The Third Uchiha Survivor
by darkestdepths90
Summary: Naruto is the son of Kakashi's teammates and he watches over Naruto as he learns who he is and of the burden he must carry. Don't own Naruto
1. Chapter 1

In a large cavern, Kakashi Hatake stands between three Iwa ninja and his teammates, breathing hard and unable to see with his left eye. The Iwa ninja start making hand signs, he's unable to hear the name over the sound of the earth ripping apart. Boulders start falling from the ceiling and the enemy ninja run from the cavern. The boulders are falling all around Kakashi as he tries to get to his teammates.

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Obito stood next to Rin as he watch Kakashi dodge boulder after boulder. He looked at the ceiling and saw which was going to fall next and knew that his Sharingan had finally activated. He also knew where it was going to fall and saw that Kakashi wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. He ran forward and threw Kakashi out from under the falling rock, but was caught under it himself.

The sickening cracking sound rang out in the now still cavern. "Obito!" Rin and Kakashi came running up to him. The right side of his body was smashed under the boulder. "Why did you do it?"

Obito tried to smile. "I told you Kakashi, being on a team means looking out for each other." Blood ran out the side of his mouth. "Rin, I want you to implant my Sharingan into Kakashi's left eye socket."

"I won't let you."

"Shut up and be grateful Kakashi, it will take care of that tunnel vision problem you got with Chidori. Think of it as a gift for becoming a jonin. At least I put it to good use first."

"Do it Rin." Rin was crying as she removed his eye and replaced Kakashi's useless one. "They will pay for this Obito, I swear it."

"I don't care about them, make sure Rin stays safe, that's all I want."

"Obito, I have to tell you something."

Kakashi took this as his cue to leave and went to start moving the rocks blocking their way out. "What is it Rin?"

"I'm pregnant, I found out the day before we left."

"You should have asked to be taken off the mission, not only are you endangering yourself, but the baby too."

"They would have wanted a explanation, then both our families would have found out."

"Don't let my family have the child. Only tell sensei, Kakashi, and your uncle Jiraiya, they will keep you both safe. I wish I could help raise our child." The sound of chirping birds and horrific screams came from the exit. "Sounds like Kakashi found them. Rin, you need to get going, more will show up soon."

"I can't leave you here!"

"The other Sharingan is gone, no matter what they try they won't get it."

"I don't give a rat's ass about that. I love you, and I won't leave you here."

"You don't have a choice, this boulder isn't going to move. Could you give me two explosive tags?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Take as many of them with me as I can. It should also make a big enough distraction for the two of you to get away."

She placed two in his hand and kissed him, ignoring the blood. "I love you Obito."

"I love you too, now go before anymore show up." He hears her leave and hoped she wouldn't come back. He placed the tags one on top of the other, and waited. He heard what sounded like people running. "Who could have done this? Go check the girl!"

The running resumed and stopped near him. "We got a live one, he's from Leaf and his eye's gone. One of our ninja must have got him, he'll be dead soon."

Obito smirked. "So will you. Boom." The explosive tags started to glow and the explosion engulfed the whole cavern, killing the Iwa ninja and finishing off Obito.

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An explosion shook the earth, making Kakashi and Rin stop. "What the hell was that?"

"Obito." Rin eyes welled up with tears and the pain was obvious on her face.

"Let's keep going, we need to report to sensei." Rin nodded and followed Kakashi away from where her lover had sacrificed himself. They moved through the treetops quickly and quietly, moving toward the leaf base.

As they continued to move, Kakashi felt more tired the further he went. 'It's the Sharingan, it's burning through my chakra. I can't turn it off, so how do I stop it. Wait, the reason it's using chakra is because it's still copying everything it sees. So if I cover it then it should stop draining me.' He pulled his headband over his left eye. Rin saw him do this, but decide it be better to ask him later. **(A/N He's not considered a genius for nothing.)**

They landed just outside the base and went straight to where Yondaime was. Yondaime smiled when he saw them. "Kakashi, I know you can't use your eye, but isn't that a little much?" He saw Rin and the sadness she felt before realizing that his third student wasn't with them. His smile fell. "What happened?"

"Rin was kidnapped and Obito and I went to rescue her, we were attacked by three Iwa ninja. They caused the ceiling of the cave to collapse and Obito pushed me out from under one, but was crushed by it, well half of him was. He was able to use the Sharingan to predict where it was going to fall."

"He finally activated his Sharingan?"

"Yes, and had Rin transplant it, into me." He raised his headband to reveal the red eye with three swirling tomoes. "I killed the ones that did it with Chidori." He saw the anger on his sensei's face. "I know what you said, but the Sharingan cancels out the tunnel vision. Rin has something she's been hiding as well."

Yondaime looked at the young woman. "Sensei, what I say can't leave this place."

"Alright, what is it."

"I'm pregnant with Obito's child. He didn't want his family to know and mine couldn't care less about my actions."

"I won't tell them, but I need to take you off of active duty."

"I understand, thank you for keeping this secret."

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Eight and a half months after Obito's death, Rin sat in a bed at the hospital of Konoha with Yondaime and Kakashi in the room and her son in her arms. "The war finally ends only for a demon fox to attack. My time as Hokage going to be remember as the worst in history."

"Sensei, you are a hero of the war and no one could have predicted that Kyuubi would suddenly attack. You're not to blame, and if anyone can stop Kyuubi's rampage, it's you."

"Thank you Rin. So have you decided on a name for him?"

"I was hoping that you would allow him to use Uzumaki as his family name."

Yondaime smiled. "Of course he can, but what about his given name?"

"I couldn't think of a proper name, could you two help me pick one?"

"How about Heisei?" The other two sent looks at him that seemed say 'What the hell are you thinking?'

"Kakashi, why would you suggest that the child's name be calm whirlpool?"

Kakashi started to laugh nervously. Yondaime smiled. "How about Naruto?"

"Sensei, I'm not going to name him after something in ramen, in fact I going to try to keep him away from it as much as possible." **(A/N Sorry, I couldn't resist.)**

"But Ramen's the best food there is! Besides, that's not the only meaning for Naruto."

"What else does it mean?"

"Maelstrom. It's fitting since he was born the day Kyuubi attacked."

"I'll think about it."

A ninja runs into the room. "Yondaime, Kyuubi has decimated the front line, it's nearing the village!"

"Damn it! What the hell happened to cause this? Kakashi, gather as many ninja as you can and finish evacuating the civilians!" Kakashi ran from the room. "Sorry Rin, I see you later." All she saw was a yellow blur leave the room and then she heard the roar of the beast.

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Yondaime stands on top of a giant toad's head, staring at the Kyuubi. "KYUUBI, WHAT HAS CAUSED YOU TO ATTACK?!"

"**YOU ATTACKED ME!"**

"WE HAVE DONE NO SUCH THING!"

"THE MAN THAT SMELLED OF SNAKES WORE YOUR SYMBOL, BRING HIM TO ME AND I WILL NOT DESTROY YOUR PATHATIC VILLAGE!"

'A man that smells of snakes? No, he can't mean Orochimaru.' "KYUUBI, I KNOW THE MAN YOU SPEAK OF, BUT I CAN'T BRING HIM TO YOU!"

"**THEN YOUR VILLAGE WILL BURN!"**

Kyuubi ran towards the toad. "Gamabunta, you think you can hold him long enough for me to reason with him?"

"**I CAN TRY."** Gamabunta pulled his 'Short' sword to block Kyuubi's tails.

"**YOU CAN'T BEAT ME HUMAN!"**

"I DON'T WISH TO FIGHT YOU! THAT MAN IS NO LONG PART OF THIS VILLAGE, HE BETARYED US!"

"**LIES, YOU ARE TRYING TO TRICK ME TO SAVE YOUR VILLAGE!"**

"I AM TRYING TO SAVE MY HOME, BUT THESE ARE NOT LIES. THE MAN YOU SEEK IS NAMED OROCHIMARU AND HE WOULD DO ANYTHING TO DESTROY US!"

"**I WILL HAVE NONE OF YOUR LIES HUMAN." **Kyuubi sent all nine tails towards Gamabunta and struck him with three of them. When he hit the ground the earth shook and several buildings collapsed. Gamabunta was having a hard time get back to his feet and Kyuubi slowly moved toward him. **"I GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE TO BRING ME THIS 'OROCHIMARU'."**

"I ALREADLY TOLD YOU HE'S NOT HERE!"

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU, I HURT HIM BADLY IN OUR LAST CONFRONTATION. HE MUST BE HERE, OR HE WOULDN'T SURVIVE. I BELIEVE THAT YOU CALL IT A HOSPITAL, THAT WHERE HE IS." Kyuubi turned his back on Gamabunta and walked away, towards the hospital.

'No, Rin's there.' "Gamabunta, we have to stop him. There are a lot of injured people there and most can't be moved."

"WE BOTH KNOW THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE GIRL, SO DON'T LIE TO ME." The toad finally gets back to his feet and in one massive leap, he stands between Kyuubi and the hospital.

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Kakashi watches from a far rooftop as the fox and toad do battle. He then realizes where the Kyuubi was heading. 'We can't let it get there. Obito would never forgive me and I would be unworthy of his eye.' He jumped to street level and ran towards the fox making hand signs as he went. The sound of chirping birds was drowned out by the sound of the battle.

He ran up the fox's hind leg and it didn't seem to notice him until he started to drag his arm behind him, cutting the fox along the back. The fox roared in pain and tried to hit him with its tails. Kakashi dodged each attempt and continued towards the head. When he reached it he was about to stab his hand into the fox, but it shook him off and swatted him with a tail. Gamabunta grab Kakashi with his tongue and placed him next to Yondaime.

"Kakashi, you're no match for him."

"I had to do something." He pulled his headband back over the Sharingan.

"I know, but there's not much either of us can do."

"There has to be something."

"There's only one thing I can think of, but I would rather not have to resort to it."

There was a loud roar and an enormous cloud of smoke. Once the smoke cleared a purple snake equal in size to Gamabunta emerged. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE MANDA?"

"OROCHIMARU SSSSSENT ME TO HELP YOU."

A loud growl came from Kyuubi. "I KNEW YOU SPOKE LIES HUMAN! YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE A FOOL OF ME, KYUUBI ON KITSUNE!"

"Damn you Orochimaru. Kakashi, it seems we no longer have a choice, I need you to go get Rin's son."

Kakashi's visible eye widened. "You're not planning on using that are you?! It will kill you!"

"I don't have a choice, if Konoha is to survive then I must stop Kyuubi. This is the only way now that Manda is here." Reluctantly, Kakashi takes off towards the hospital. "Obito, Rin, please forgive me for what I'm about to do."

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The medics were having trouble keeping up with the number of wounded, and Rin couldn't sit by while they needed help. She moved over to a patient that was not seriously wounded, but could no longer fight. "Please, will you watch him? I'm going to go help in whatever way I can." The boy was an Uchiha, she knew that, but was still surprised that he was a chunin at his age, most his age were just graduating from the academy, even with two years being taken off due to the war. He nodded and she handed him her son. She left the room and found the nearest medic. "Sir, where do you need the most help?"

"I can't send you, you gave birth only a few hours ago."

"You need help, and by the look of things, most of your people are running low on chakra."

"Yondaime's going to kill me for doing this. All right, there's a small group of medic ninja stationed not far from here, they have several critical patients, but not enough staff. Unfortunately, it's near the battle field."

"I understand." She leaps out of the window and runs along the damaged rooftops. She saw that the fox was moving toward the hospital and then watched as Gamabunta landed between the two. The quake produced by said landing almost knocked her off her feet. That's when she saw the blue glow moving along the fox's back. 'Kakashi.' The blue light faded as one of the fox's tails whipped forward, she was too far away to see why, but could see that Gamabunta caught something with his tongue.

She didn't have long to think about it as she remembered the reason she left the hospital and started moving again. She reached her destination a few minutes later, the fox had already passed it by. Just as she was about to enter the tent, there was a loud roar that made her wheel around. Her eye's widened at the sight of the massive purple snake. She hurried inside and saw that two of the medics had passed out from chakra depletion.

She immediately started performing healing jutsu on one unlucky man, who had a deep gash on his chest and had been covered in other injuries, none of which were nearly as severe.

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Kakashi had just made it to the hospital and found that Rin wasn't in her room. He found her son sitting on an assumed boy that Kakashi recognized. "Itachi, where's the boy's mother?"

"I don't know Kakashi, she went to help the medics. She asked me to watch him."

"I see, thank you for doing so, but I need to take him." Itachi nodded and handed him the boy. When Kakashi reached the window, the sight of blue flames greeted him.

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Kyuubi, surprisingly, had not continued his attack, it was almost like he was waiting for them to attempt an attack against him. Yondaime knew better, he was charging up for an attack of devastating proportions. "Gamabunta, we have to stop him from gather anymore energy."

"I'M OPEN FOR SUGGESTIONS, NOTHING I'VE TRIED HAS WORKED."

Blue flames appeared at the tip of all nine tails. "I'M TIRED OF WAITING! YOU LIED TO ME, YOU TRIED TO TRICK ME, AND EVEN AS YOUR VILLAGE LIES IN RUINS, YOU REFUSE TO GIVE ME THE ONE I WANT." The flames join together and begin to expand. "KITSUNE-BI!"

The blue flames spread outward in a circle destroying everything it touches. Manda already being outside the range of the attack simply stares at Kyuubi, while Gamabunta has to jump to avoid be burnt. All the combatants were unaware that there were still people in the area.

"Gamabunta, as much as I know you hate Manda, he's still here and it worth a shot to ask him for help." The toad says nothing but makes his way over to the snake. "MANDA, I KNOW ON ONE COMMANDS YOU, ESPECIALLY NOT ME, BUT I NEED YOUR HELP! I BEG YOU TO HELP ME DEFEAT THIS DEMON!"

"YOU ARE AN ARROGANT HUMAN, BUT YOU KNOW WHEN TO SSSSSHALLOW YOUR PRIDE. VERY WELL, WHAT ISSSS IT YOU WANT ME TO DO?"

"THANK YOU MANDA, I REQUEST THAT YOU WRAP AROUND THE BEAST TO HOLD HIM LONG ENOUGH FOR MY STUDENT TO RETURN WITH THE CHILD! AFTER HE RETURNS, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU RELEASE HIM OR YOU MAY BE SEALED AS WELL!"

The snake nods and slithers toward the fox. The toad moves in front of the fox to draw his attention so Manda can do his job. The snake coiled tightly around the fox, even the tails, and used it jaws to restrict him from moving his head. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, NO SNAKE OR TOAD WILL BE SPARED!"

Kakashi had finally made it back to the battlefield and ran up the large toad's back. "Sensei, I have the boy, but Rin wasn't with him. She went to help the medics, I don't know where she is."

Yondaime sighs. "I hope she can forgive me." He takes the newborn from Kakashi and turns back to the fox. "MANDA, YOU CAN RELEASE HIM NOW!" The snake disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the fox stood silent. Yondaime started doing hand signs and the fox charged them. "Kakashi, I need you to move away from here." The jonin nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. He finished the hand signs and a Shinigami appeared behind him. He looked down at the boy in his arms. "Forgive me."

The Shinigami's arm reach through Yondaime's stomach and into the fox. With a great amount of effort, the fox's soul was ripped from his body and placed inside of the newborn boy. Gamabunta used his tongue to place the two humans on the ground as Yondaime's life faded. The toad looked down at the baby, his body was already beginning to adapt to the fox's presence. The only outward characteristics were three whisker-like marks on each cheek, and the seal that appeared over his navel. 'I WISH YOU LUCK KID.' The toad disappeared in the same fashion as the snake had as Kakashi arrived.

The boy was sleeping on Yondaime's chest. He picked up the child in one hand and carried his sensei's body over his other shoulder. It was a strange sight to behold as he made his way to the Hokage Tower where the Sandaime was.

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Iwa- Village Hidden in the Rock 

**Chidori- One Thousand Birds**

**Yondaime- Fourth **

Kitsune-bi- Fox Fire

Sandaime- Third 


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm sorry to inform you sir, Yondaime sacrificed his own life to stop the Kyuubi. He sealed it inside of Rin's son."

"That's unfortunate. Where is the boy's mother?"

"I don't know, I was told she went to help the medics, but I don't know where."

"Does he have any other relatives, in case the worst has happened?"

"He does, but it was both of his parents wish that he not be taken by either family."

"Why would they not want him to know his family?"

"This can't leave this room." Sandaime used a jutsu to soundproof the office. "He's an Uchiha, Obito's his father. The council cannot know of his heritage or the fox, or they would force the boy to be a living weapon, that is something I will not allow."

"I understand, but Rin must be told what her son contains."

The office door burst open and a battered ANBU walked in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm here to inform you that several medic ninja were lost as well as their charges. The doctor in charge of distributing the help gave me a list of the medics there." He walked over and placed the list in front of Sandaime.

"Many ninja were lost today, why is this so important?"

"I believed that you would be interested in the last name added to it, the doctor remembered Yondaime meeting with her before the attack. If I am wrong, please forgive me." He bowed and left the office shutting the door behind him.

Sandaime picked up the list and went straight to the last name, his eyes widened. "Kakashi, I'm sorry to say, but the boy's an orphan." Kakashi ran over and took the list, there at the bottom was Rin's name. The clothe of his headband grew wet, his left eye was crying. "Does the boy have a name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

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They had tried to keep both secrets about Naruto, but the truth about the fox had somehow found its way to the surface. For the first three years of his life, he lived with the Sandaime, but once they found out about the fox that couldn't be tolerated.

At five years old, Naruto had to have an Anbu following him to make sure nothing happened to him, the villagers were merciless when it came to him. They had nearly killed him once before and Sandaime wouldn't allow that to happen again. The one person who always seemed to be watching over him was someone Naruto had come to enjoy the company of, he said his name was Itachi.

Naruto spent most of his time with Kakashi, in doing so he met several other ninja. After a while they saw that he couldn't possibly be Kyuubi and relaxed when he was around. The ones he saw most often were Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, Iruka Umino, Anko Mitarashi, Ibiki Morino, and Gai. The last three scared the hell out of him for different reasons. **(A/N Who wouldn't be scared, especially of Gai.)**

Currently, he was walking down the street, his hands stuffed in his pockets. 'Happy birthday to me, not like many people care.' He sighs. 'I gotta get home before someone finds me. What the hell did I do to them anyways?' **(A/N That's what happens when you let a kid hang out with Anko.)**

He had almost made it home, but when he turned the corner he found several people there, all staring at him with cold obsidian eyes. As soon as he saw them he turned around and ran the way he had come from. He moved through the maze of streets with ease, but the people were following him on the rooftops, unaware that the Anbu member was watching.

He soon lost trace of what part of town he was in and accidentally ran into a dead-end alleyway. "You have no where left to run." He turned around to find the group he was running from. "Today you die demon!" The man at the front ran forward with a kunai in his hand.

The man seemed to be running in slow motion, and he dodged the first attempt. Obviously, the man was a little surprised. "You got lucky demon, it won't happen again." The rest of the group was tired of just watching and attack Naruto at the same time.

A wall of fire separated the attackers and Naruto. Before Naruto knew what had happened, he was in the arms of a man standing on a roof overlooking the alleyway. "Are you alright Naruto?"

"Yeah, thanks Itachi, the one guy was moving pretty slow, but I don't think I could have dodged them all. Sorry you always have to save me."

"It all right, I told your mother I'd watch over you."

"My mother?"

"Yeah, before you ask though, I don't know her name, but I'm pretty sure Kakashi does." The boy smiled and looked up at Itachi. Behind his mask, Itachi's eyes widened when he saw red eyes with one tomoe in each. 'The Sharingan, how is that possible?' The boy passed out in his arms.

Itachi removed his mask three tomoes in each eye swirling. "How dare you call yourselves Uchihas, let alone Konoha Military Police Force? You have to gang up to attack a child."

"That _thing _is no child, it's a demon and should be killed."

"Just because he contains a demon, doesn't mean that he is one. Father and the Hokage will hear of this. You _will_ all be punished for your actions, even you Shisui."** (A/N Shisui is Itachi's best friend.)** With a swirl of leaves Itachi and the unconscious Naruto disappeared.

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There was a knocking on the door and reluctantly Kakashi put his orange book down and opened it. Itachi stood there with Naruto in his arms. "He's only unconscious. You have some explaining to do, both to him and me." Itachi went inside and Kakashi closed the door. "Who is he really?"

"What do you mean?"

"He activated the Sharingan."

'I was hoping he would get that until he was older.' "All right, but this can't become public knowledge. Do you remember Obito Uchiha?"

"I believe he was my father's cousin, why?"

"He's Naruto's father, he didn't want your clan to know because Naruto would have lost his childhood. You must have wished for one at some point."

"I think that you made the right choice in keeping this a secret, it would be even harder on him than Sasuke. The ones that were attacking him when it activated were Uchihas. Disgraces, but Uchihas nonetheless."

"Did they see it?"

"I don't think they noticed it, but if they did, the elders will convince my father to turn him into some sort of weapon to use against any who opposed the clan. Still, for him to develop even the first stage at his age is a rarity."

"I was afraid the council would do the same, even if they just knew about the fox. If they were to learn of both, not even the Hokage could keep him safe from them."

"I agree, I'll leave him in your care. When he wakes up he'll probably ask about his mother, I told him I had met her but I never learned her name."

"Thank you for keeping him safe."

"I told his mother I would, and even if I didn't know it, he's family." Itachi handed Naruto over to Kakashi and left. He laid Naruto on the couch before going back to his book.

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It was already dark put when Naruto finally woke up. 'Where am I?' He looked around. 'It looks like Kakashi's place, Itachi must have brought me here.'

He looked around some more, and sure enough, there was Kakashi reading his perverted book. "Glad to see you're awake Naruto." He never looked up from his book.

"Itachi said you may have known my mother, I want to know about her."

"Yes, I knew her, both your parents actually. They were my teammates."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"First of all, you're six years old, if I told you before now, you probably wouldn't remember me doing so. Second, they're a difficult subject for me to talk about, your father died saving me, and your mother died when I had promised to protect her. I'm the last member of my team, even my sensei died. He died to protect this village by stopping Kyuubi." Kakashi sighed. "There's something I want to show you, follow me."

They stood up and Kakashi led Naruto into his bedroom. He picked up a picture off his dresser and gave it to Naruto. "That's my old team, it was taken the day after we became a team, so that's when they were about twelve, they were just about eighteen when you were born."

"How did I end up blonde?"

"I'm not sure, but Rin's hair was nothing like her parent's either, one had black and other had white. Obito had black hair like everyone else in his clan."

"If you had just told me I was related to someone in this picture, I would have guessed Yondaime."

Kakashi laughs. "You do look a lot like him."

"Why does my mom have those marks on her cheeks? I've seen something like them but they're not the same."

"You've seen the Inuzuka clan, her father was part of their clan. Her mother was the sister of Yondaime's sensei, Jiraiya. The marks are birthmarks that resulted from the two clan marks fusing."

"You said dad was part of a clan too, which one?"

"Obito was an Uchiha."

"Like Itachi?"

"Yes."

"If I have family, why do I live by myself?"

"They don't know. Only Sandaime, myself, and now Itachi know. Your father didn't want the Uchiha clan to raise you because you wouldn't have a childhood, they would decide everything you did. Your mom was disowned by the Inuzuka clan because she couldn't perform they basic techniques like the Shikyaku no Jutsu."

"That makes no fucking sense! Who cares if she couldn't, they're supposed to be a family!"

"I agree with you Naruto, but to them she was a disgrace to the clan. They pride themselves for those techniques, as the Hyugas do their Juken and the Uchihas do their fire jutsu."

"It still doesn't make sense, she had to be good at something."

"She was one of the best medical ninja this village has ever produced, probably only second to Tsunade."

"They couldn't be happy with that?"

"Apparently not."

Sadness filled the young boy's eyes. "My mother died during the fox's attack didn't she?"

"Yes, she was treating the injured when the fox let off some wide spread attack."

"Then you couldn't have protected her, it took Yondaime's life to kill it. You would have died too and I would have been alone. I would never have known who I really am, or who my parents were."

"Naruto, you have always been you, but because you now know, I can tell you that you have the Sharingan. Itachi saw it before you passed out. You activated the first stage. When you have it turned on, things will seem to slow down and let you see through genjutsu depending on the skill of the one using it. The second will allow you to copy techniques you see, taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu and use them if you physically can. The final stage will allow you to predict how an opponent is going to move except for the quickest opponents. It also has hypnosis abilities, suggesting actions, making someone sleep and replaying memories to someone else or having them relive their own."

"You have the Sharingan, does that make you an Uchiha too?"

"No. In fact, they don't like me much because I have it."

"How do you have it if you're not an Uchiha?"

"It's your father's, he had your mother implant it into me when he was dying. There are some problems that came along with it though, I can't turn it off and because I'm not an Uchiha, the amount of chakra it uses it quite a bit more. That's way I always have it covered unless I need it."

"You said I only activated the first stage, how do I get the others?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure Itachi will help you if you ask him. Be sure to only ask when there is no one else around. If people knew you are a Uchiha, you would be taken by the clan." Naruto nodded smiling. "So, what would you like for dinner?"

"Ramen!"

'Sorry Rin, it seems he's hooked.' "Alright, but there will be more than that. You can't live on just ramen, you need to eat some vegetables too." The boy groaned and Kakashi smiled under his mask."

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"Father they are disgraces to the Uchiha name!"

"For what, trying to kill the demon that terrorized this village?"

"He's a child!"

"He ceased being human the moment that thing took his body. I will not punish them for doing it, and that's final."

"The people like those who attack him are the real demons. The Hokage knows what has happened and he does not share your view on this matter." Itachi left the room, knowing full well that his father was pissed. 'Would they feel the same way if they knew who he is? They probably try harder, not wanting him to ruin the clan name. Not that it could get much worse. They will pay for what they've done to Naruto, I swear it.'

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"Hey Kakashi, do you think I'd be a good ninja?"

"I think you could be one of the greatest, but to do that you would have to go through the academy."

"How old do I have to be to start in the academy?"

"Actually, you're the right age, all you have to do is tell the Hokage you want to, but he's pretty busy right now, so we'll wait till tomorrow okay?"

"All right. Kakashi, do you mind if I sleep here? I don't think I can get across town without being seen with the festival going on and all."

"That's fine, pleasant dreams Naruto." Naruto got up from the table and fell asleep on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3

The first day at the academy, Naruto had arrive an hour before he needed to. Because he was early, he sat on the swing in front of the building. He heard barking and a loud yell follows, the barking was moving closer. "Hey Akamaru what's gotten into you?" The small dog stops in front of Naruto and growls. "Knock it off Akamaru, leave him alone."

Akamaru barks again and the boy opens his mouth, but Naruto speaks up first. "So what if I smell like a fox. I train in the forest and the smell was bound to stick to my clothes."

The boy's jaw dropped. "You can understand him?"

"Yeah, kind of. I hear both the barking and the words behind it." Naruto noticed the red marks on his cheeks. "You're an Inuzuka right?"

"Yeah, my name's Kiba. Who are you and how can you understand Akamaru?"

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I not sure how I can understand him."

"Uzumaki huh, I don't think I've heard that name before. Sorry about Akamaru."

"It's alright, I've had worse greetings. He's just being cautious."

"Why are you here by yourself?"

"I'm starting at the academy today, and I'm by myself because I'm an orphan. How about you?"

"I'm also start at the academy, but my mom's on a mission and my sister watching the animals at my family's clinic."

"I not sure what time it is, but I'm pretty sure that they're not opening for a little while."

"Not for another hour or so. You're not planning on sitting out here till then are you?"

"I lose track of time really easily, if I leave, I'll probably be late." 'Probably picked that up for Kakashi, next I'll be reading those Icha Icha books and wearing a mask.'

"At least come and get something to eat, there's a ramen place not far from here."

"I know that place, Ichiraku Ramen Bar. The old man there's really nice and the food's great."

"I like the food too, but I like the girl more."

"Ayame, she's twice our age."

"So, that isn't that big of a gap. That only makes her twelve."

"True. Good luck with that though, her dad may be a cook, but I think he would kill you before letting you date her."

Kiba just snorted and picked up Akamaru. He placed the dog on his head and started off towards the ramen stand.

The two of them stepped under the flap and sat down. Teuchi come out and smiled. "This is a first Naruto, normally you don't come in until after eleven."

"I'm going to the academy today. I'm just going to get three bowls of miso."

"Okay, and you?"

"A large beef."

"Alright, they'll be out in a bit."

"Thanks old man."

"Can't keep my best customer waiting now can I?"

"I don't come here that often."

"Maybe not, but when you do, you eat quite a bit." The voice came from behind them and a scarred man wearing a chunin vest came in.

"Hey Iruka, going to join us?"

"Sorry, but I can't today. I have to go get ready for class, in fact as of today, I'm your teacher."

"That's great, but don't lecture us too much, it's our first day."

"You know me Naruto."

"Which is why I said it." Kiba started laughing and Iruka waved as he left. Ayame came out of the kitchen and set down their orders. "Thanks Ayame." Both boys were practically drooling, Naruto over the food and Kiba as he watch Ayame walk away. "Kiba, if you don't eat it soon, it's gonna get cold.

Kiba looked over at Naruto, who was starting his second bowl. His jaw dropped. "What the hell, do you inhale it?"

"I got three bowls, I don't want it to get cold so I eat it fast."

"It was gone in less than a minute. I know it's noodles but still, I surprise you don't choke."

"You got a large and if you want to be to class on time, you'd better start." Kiba broke apart the chopsticks, and started eating.

----------------------------

They made their way back toward the academy a half hour later. "You're a bottomless pit Naruto, I think you could keep up with a Akimichi in an eating contest."

"I seen some of them eating at the BBQ place downtown, and there's no way in hell I could. And I do have limits, it's just that I rarely have enough money to reach them."

When the arrived, they saw two girls standing outside, one with blonde hair the other with pink. "Did you hear, there's an Uchiha in our class."

Kiba groaned. "What so special about them, their no better than anyone else." Naruto looked bored.

"You don't know anything!" The blonde girl looked pissed and it made Kiba shudder, Naruto had seen worse by being around Anko.

"Actually girls, the Inuzuka is right, the only difference between us and everyone else is the Sharingan."

The four children turned to see Itachi and a smaller version of him walking up to them. "Hi Itachi."

"It's nice to see you're all right Naruto. This is my younger brother Sasuke, he's in your class."

"It's nice to meet you all." **(A/N Obviously this is before the massacre, so Sasuke isn't an asshole yet.)**

The girls were both blushing and were speechless. Kiba just grunted and went inside. Naruto walked over and held out his hand, which Sasuke shook. "It's nice to meet you too Sasuke." A group of Hyugas walked past them, all of them glared at Naruto. They stood around a young Hyuga girl. 'Must be the heiress.' Naruto shrugged off their glares and also went inside.

Their first day consisted of learning what chakra was and how to mold it using hand signs. They didn't get to try any of it until a week later. They were called up one at a time to concentrate their chakra. Most of them did well, but as it was the first time they attempted it, some people didn't. They went by name, so Naruto went after Sasuke

'Why does his chakra feel familiar?' Unknown to him, deep within his mind a pair of blood red eyes snapped open.

'**MANDARA!'** Naruto winced in pain and put a hand on his head.

Iruka saw this and walked up to him. "You all right Naruto?"

"I'll be fine, it's just a headache." Iruka smiled and walked away, but kept a watchful eye on him.

Naruto stood in front with his hands together and his eyes were closed. His chakra started swirling around him slowly increasing in speed, making the sound of a strong wind. It was the best display after Sakura, the pink haired girl he had met the first day. She concentrated her chakra in her hand and made it glow. "That's enough, good job Naruto." He smiled and made his way back to his seat barely opening his eyes.

Kiba looked a little worried when he made it there. "Naruto, you all right, your eyes have barely opened since you started the exercise."

"It's nothing, I just used a bit too much chakra. I'll be fine it a minute or two." Naruto didn't like lying to Kiba, but he knew he had to, at least for now. He felt that his eyes weren't drawing on chakra anymore and check his reflection in the window to be sure. His eyes were back to normal and he looked towards the front of the classroom again.

"All right class, that's it for today. Tomorrow we'll be doing more reading on uses for chakra. Dismissed." The kid all stood up and made their way towards the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow Kiba. I'm gonna go home, I'm still kind of tired from earlier."

"All right, see ya tomorrow Naruto." Naruto was planning on going the long way home so it was less likely to run into someone, but decided to go to the Hokage Monument first.

-------------------------

Naruto sat at the top of the Hokage Monument looking over the village. "Itachi, are you here?"

"Yes I am Naruto."

"Is there anyone else around?"

"No one from ANBU and no one else as far as I can tell."

"Good, because I want to ask you something that I was warned not to in public."

"What is it Naruto?"

"I was wondering how to increase the number of tomoes in the Sharingan."

"Time and experience. The more you use it the faster it develops. I would suggest that until you can put a genjutsu over them to train them in the woods trying to follow the movements of animals. Even when you can use genjutsu, you need to be careful about using it in public, because most chunin can sense genjutsu and higher ranks and other Uchihas can see through them."

"I understand, thank you Itachi. Why isn't Sasuke able to use the Sharingan yet?"

"It normally manifest when the user is in a situation where it could prevent them for dying. Sasuke has never experienced something like that."

"That's kind of creepy."

Itachi laughed. "Yeah, but under those situations, it comes in handy. Now that you have it though, all you have to do is concentrate chakra to your eyes to turn it on."

"Thanks again Itachi."

"It's your birth right, as much as it is mine." Itachi placed a hand on Naruto's head before leaving in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto continued to look over the village and then he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He turned around to see two Sharingan eyes, but they didn't belong to Itachi. The man swung his fist at Naruto and the force behind it was so intense that it spun him around.

The spinning made him step forward, but he went the wrong way and toppled over the side of the monument. The last thing he saw before falling unconscious, was one of the craved heads coming up to meet him.

-------------------------------

Naruto opened his eyes to see the hospital ceiling that he was starting to get use to. He sat up and saw that Kakashi was asleep in the chair next to him, orange book in hand. 'What the hell happened? My whole body hurts.'

The door came bursting in and Anko and the Hokage came in. "Holy shit he's alive!" The yelling woke Kakashi up.

"What happened?"

"You fell fifty some feet, it's a miracle you're even alive!" 'If you can call it that.' The Hokage and Anko thought the same thing as Kakashi spoke.

"Who the hell did this to him? I'm going to find him and rip his worthless throat out!"

"I'm afraid you're too late Anko, the attacker, Shisui Uchiha, was found drowned two days ago, the day after the incident." Anko let out a string of curses and excused herself from the room.

'I've been here for three days. Iruka-sensei not going to be happy, I missed a lot of classes.' The Hokage was whispering to Kakashi, whose eye was wide. "Hey old man, would you mind if I left?"

"That's fine Naruto, but there is one thing that I have to tell you before you go." Naruto looked straight at him. "Kakashi has informed me that you know who your parents were and that he impressed how important it is that you not tell anyone." Naruto nodded. "I'm sorry to say, but it's even more important after what happened last night."

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"The entire Uchiha clan, except you and Sasuke, was slaughtered, by Itachi."

"It's not true, Itachi would never do that!"

"Sasuke witnessed him kill their parents."

"That doesn't mean anything. What about that henge thing we learned about, doesn't that make people look like other people?"

"Yes it does, but it can't copy the effects of kekkei genkai like the Sharingan, he used it to make Sasuke fall asleep while he escaped."

"Why… why would he do that?"

"We don't know. Naruto, you said you were going to ask Itachi about how to increased the number of tomoes, did you?" Naruto nodded slowly. "Good, no one outside of the clan knew and once Sasuke gets his, if he doesn't already know, someone will have to tell him."

"He'll question where the knowledge came from."

"If you aren't ready to tell him by then, we can say there was a scroll entrusted to me."

"Thanks old man. Can I leave?" The Hokage nodded and Naruto walked out the door.

---------------------------

After leaving the hospital, Naruto made his way to the academy, even though he knew that class had already been dismissed, he wanted to talk with Iruka. He walked through the deserted halls and made his way to where he had class. He slid open the door and Iruka was inside, he had a surprised look on his face, but he was also happy.

"Naruto, I glad to see you're alright."

"Yeah, not sure how, but I'm fine. Sorry I missed class."

"It's alright, you had a good reason, and you weren't the only one. Sasuke wasn't here today either, but that's understandable after what he went through. In fact, I'd be worried if he didn't take off a few days."

"Families shouldn't turn on each other, no matter what the reason."

"I agree with you Naruto, but there will always be those who resent members of their family, most of the time it's due to the difference in ability."

"Iruka-sensei, could you tell me what I missed?"

"We're working on Bunshin, but you shouldn't have too much trouble catching up."

"I think I'm going to go home, see ya tomorrow Iruka-sensei."

"Good bye Naruto, try to be on time to class tomorrow."

Naruto laughed. "I'll try, but I think I spent to much time with Kakashi to do that."

"Just be sure you're here, Kiba's been moping everyday you weren't here. Between him and Akamaru, it's a wonder anyone could hear me to learn anything." Naruto smiled and waved as he left.

---------------------------

The next morning, Naruto decided that he would go early like he did on the first day, even though his body didn't agree with the decision. He sat on the branch that the swing was hanging from, with his back against the trunk.

He watched as the kids started arriving, the first being Sakura and her blonde 'friend' Ino. The Hyuga heiress, Hinata, and her normal escort, who left when she went inside, followed shortly after.

Shino walked through the door looking at some insect on his arm, with the lazy Shikamaru and Choji behind him. Akamaru came running up to the tree and started barking, Kiba was running after him.

"Where the hell have you been man, it's been so dull."

"Sorry, I was in the hospital. Sasuke's not here today."

"Great, now his fangirls won't shut up."

Naruto smiled. "Iruka said that you wouldn't when I was gone."

"Shut up, I was worried about you, they'll be worried he's found someone other than one of them."

"We'll just have to put up with it, he probably won't be in for a few days."

"So you know why?"

"Yeah, but it's not my place to say." Kiba just snorted and picked up Akamaru. Naruto jump out of the tree and walked with him inside.

----------------------------

**Henge no Jutsu- Transformation Technique**

**Bunshin no Jutsu- Clone (Copy, doppelganger, replication etc.) Technique**


	4. Chapter 4

When Sasuke returned, his personality had changed dramatically, which didn't really surprise Naruto. Not many people could see what he had and not be changed by it. The thing that pissed Naruto off the most was that he looked down upon everyone and treated them like shit. Despite this, or maybe because of it, every girl in the class, except Hinata, was swooning over him more than before. Every time one of them talked to him he just brushed them off. Kiba was just as pissed, the only difference was that he voiced his complaints daily, and very loudly to Naruto annoyance.

He had just done so and the girls were surrounding them. 'Why do I sit here everyday? I know this is going to happen, but I sit here anyway.' Naruto smiled. "Girls, would you mind if I got out of the way and take Akamaru with me?" They glared at him, but opened a path. "Sorry man, but you need to learn to keep your mouth shut. At least Akamaru isn't going to be hurt, and isn't worse when you get home and he is." 

Kiba glared at him but nodded because his sister was ten times harder on him for letting Akamaru get beat up for something he did. Naruto took the small dog and moved outside the circle of girls, who started moving towards Kiba. "Take your seats, it's time to start class!"

The girls ran to their seats and Kiba sighed out of relief. When Naruto sat down he handed Akamaru back, Kiba glared at him. "You're an asshole, leaving me to them."

"Like I said, it's your own fault, you do that everyday and everyday you get beat to a pulp, then you go home get beat by your sister and I have to listen to you whine the next day. At first it was funny, now it's pathetic."

"Listen up, today we're going to be do some sparring, so everyone outside."

They arrived at the training ground just outside the academy and stood next to the building. "Okay, anyone want to volunteer to go first?" Sasuke immediately raised his hand. "Alright Sasuke, one more person." Kiba was about to raise his hand when Naruto's shot up. "Okay, Sasuke vs. Naruto."

Naruto smirked at Kiba. "Sorry, I get first shot at him."

"Fine, but get him good."

"Not a problem." He walked over to Iruka and stood across from Sasuke.

"Alright, I'll call the match when I think there's a determined winner, no weapons, and no jutsu. Ready?" They both nodded. "Begin!" Iruka leaped over to where the rest of the class was.

Naruto just stood there as Sasuke charge toward him and just before his fist hit, Naruto leaned to the side to avoid it. He grabbed Sasuke's arm and threw him, then chased after him. Sasuke flips in midair and lands on his feet, he sees Naruto running towards him and barely put up a block against the fist sent towards his chest, but fails to see the knee aimed for his stomach.

Sasuke stumbles backwards and Naruto continues his assault with a jab to the chest again. This one lands and knocks Sasuke back a bit more. He recovers quickly and kicks Naruto in the side, but most of the blow is absorbed by Naruto's arm. The kick still knocks the wind out of Naruto, and in the time it takes for him to recover, Sasuke lands a punch to the stomach. Naruto jumps back a little ways.

"What's the matter, running away?"

Naruto smiled. "Not a chance, I'm just starting to have some fun." Sasuke smirked and ran towards Naruto again. Sasuke attacks first, but every attack is blocked. Naruto tries to attack, but Sasuke blocks his kick with a knee and throws a punch to Naruto's chest, but it's caught. "You're not bad Sasuke, but not good enough."

"Good enough to beat you, but you're not that bad either." Naruto's eyes flash red and Sasuke's face betrays the surprise he feels. Naruto understands what just happened and jumps away.

"What do you say we finish this, there are other people who want to spar." Naruto showed a fox-like smile. "I don't care for these rules, want to _heat_ it up a bit?"

Sasuke is getting over his shock and smirks. "Sounds good to me, but it's your loss."

"We'll see." They both start running through the same hand signs, mirror images of each other. As they finish, they both yell. "Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The two large fireballs shot towards each other. The explosion caused when they collided knocked both users to the ground.

"That enough you two! You both deliberately broke the rules of the match, go sit down now!" The two of them stood up and moved over to the wall and sat down next to each other.

"I'm impressed, you kept up really well Naruto."

"I just didn't want to show you up in front of your fangirls, I wouldn't have had the energy to fend them off afterwards."

Sasuke smirked. "What was that thing you did with you eyes, I only got a brief glimpse, but it looked like the Sharingan from my clan."

"I didn't do anything as far as I know, maybe I have a kekkei genkai I don't know about."

"If you do, I want to fight you when you can use it."

"Only if you can use the Sharingan to its full potential."

"Deal, it will be one hell of a fight."

"That it will be, I look forward to it." Naruto smiled before turning and watched as Shino mopped the floor with Kiba.

----------------------------

Naruto sat in tree again at lunch, with his eyes closed and a battered Kiba sat at the base. "I would have won if I could have used jutsu."

"Quit your whining. His bugs got you, even if you could have used jutsu you wouldn't have been able to stop them with your attacks."

"How would you know, you've never seen me fight." Kiba started laughing and Naruto didn't even open an eye. "Naruto, Hinata's checking you out again."

He opened one eye and looked around. "At least she visible today, last time she used the Byakugan to look through the wall."

"You should be happy, at least one girl is interested in you."

"She's not my type, in fact, none of them are. Most of them are bitchy, like Ino and Sakura, and Hinata too timid. We also know nothing about each other."

"I agree about them being bitchy, but shy girls normally grow up to be wild women. And I can tell you anything you need to know."

"Then why don't you go ask her out?"

"She has her heart set on you."

"She's wasting her time. The others girls here all waste their time on their looks, none of them use their time to become stronger."

"I don't think they need to get any stronger, the beatings hurt enough as it is."

"Didn't you watch the matches today, they all tired out way to quickly. They won't last long as ninja. There will be times where they could be fighting for hours, against multiple opponents, and getting tired will cause death."

"Like you would know Naruto."

"You'd be surprised what I go through living by myself." 'Maybe I should tell him. It'll have to wait till after class, but I think I can trust him with this.' Naruto wrote on a small piece of paper and wrapped it around the handle of a kunai.

He tossed it and it stuck into the ground between Kiba's legs. "Hey watch it, that's too close for comfort."

"Shut up and read it, but keep it to yourself."

Kiba grumbled, but unrolled the piece of paper and read the note. '_Meet me at the top of the Hokage Monument after class, I want to tell you something that I can't here.'_

"If you gonna tell me you're gay, you can say that here."

"Fuck you. I'm not gay, or don't you remember the trip to the bathhouse? I believe you were caught while I got to see you beaten by all those beautiful naked women as you ran like a sissy."

"Not so loud, I get in to enough trouble here as it is. I'll be there, this better be good or you're going over the side."

'Wouldn't be the first time.' "Thanks Kiba, this is important to me." The bell rang and Kiba just snorted and walked back inside.

----------------------------

"Why did you drag me up here Naruto?" Naruto had his back to Kiba as he looked around to see if anyone was around with his Sharingan.

When he was confident they were alone, he changed his eyes back to normal and turned around. "Sorry, I had to make sure no one else was around. What I'm going to tell you can't be repeated, to anyone. The old man told me not to make it public knowledge, but you should know."

"Know what?"

"I found out who my parents were, but neither wanted their families to know."

"That's odd, but there must have been a reason for it. So, who are they?"

"That's why I wanted to talk to you. It turns out that I'm related to you and one other person in class. My mom's name was Rin Inuzuka."

"If this is a joke, knock it off, it's not funny."

"It's not a joke. If you want I can take you to Kakashi, he was there when I was born."

Kiba saw that this wasn't the normal joking Naruto he had come to know, the Naruto in front of him was serious. "Sorry, it's just that Rin was my mom's half sister, their dad remarried after his first wife died on a mission. Most people in my family don't like to talk about her. All I really know about her is that she was disowned for something, but no one will tell me what. If she hadn't died in the fox's attack my mom would have brought her back into the clan when she became the head."

"It's alright, I expected you wouldn't believe me at first, but that's not why the old man told me to keep it to myself, this is."

Naruto started to channel chakra to his eyes, and then opened them. There was a gasp from Kiba and he smiled. "You're an Uchiha? How is that possible, they were all killed."

"Itachi knew that I was part of his clan, but he never tried to hurt me, in fact he protected me several times. My dad died in the war before the Fox's attack, his name was Obito Uchiha." He turned the Sharingan off and smiled. "So, was it worth coming up here for, or am I going over the side again?"

"Again?"

"That's the reason why I wasn't in class for three days, someone attacked me and I fell. I landed on one of the faces and woke up in the hospital."

"YOU SHOULD BE FUCKING DEAD!"

"Keep it down, someone might hear you!"

"Even if you didn't die from the fall, you wouldn't be walking around after only three days."

Naruto shrugged. "I've always healed fast. I could have a huge gash on my arm and it would be gone by tomorrow. The old man says that some people subconsciously use healing jutsu on themselves, but I don't think that's what I do since I don't know any healing jutsu."

"No, it was well worth the trip, but that also means that related to that asshole Sasuke."

"Yeah, but I still hate him for the way he treats other people, but not near as much as the branch and main houses of the Hyuga clan do. I don't know how the main house can keep the branch families from rebelling."

"I have no idea, but what ever they do, I don't want to be on the receiving end." Naruto nodded in agreement and they left for Ichiraku's for dinner.

"Remember, you can't tell anyone."

"Who would believe me?"

"Sasuke, he caught a glimpse of the Sharingan during our match today. He didn't recognize it, but if he heard what I told you, he'd probably put two and two together."

"Like I would say a damn thing to him. Don't worry, there are some thing that even I know should remain unsaid."

"Thanks, and because I'm feeling generous, I have a prank that will interest you."

Kiba's smile widened evilly. "Do tell."

"It will require yours and Akamaru's help to pull it off, and it's against the cold hearted bastard."

"I like it already. What do we need to do?"

"Can you do the Jujin Bunshin really well?" Kiba nodded. "Have Akamaru turn into you and you into Sasuke." Kiba opened his mouth to protest, but Naruto stopped him. "Let me finish before you complain. Looking like Sasuke, you follow Akamaru and me into the classroom, when the girls surround you, tell them that you're gay. They'll see Sasuke saying it and because it will seem that we're both in the room they can't blame us."

Kiba rubs his hands together, smiling again. "I like it, the only problem is if Sasuke walks in."

"We could tie him up before class, but then you and Akamaru would have to stay that way for the whole class, or at least till lunch."

"We could just stall him and have him show up late. I don't want to be him all day and I don't know if Akamaru could keep the jutsu going for that long."

"But how are you going to change back and switch places with Akamaru?"

"He could follow me into the hall and we switch there."

Naruto started laughing. "That would get you killed. You would have just used Sasuke appearance to say he's gay and then 'you' go into the hall with 'him'. They'll think the two of you are a couple."

"This is a lot of work for a prank."

"You're starting to sound like Shikamaru, besides the best ones require planning. There will always be obstacles to overcome, mainly Iruka-sensei and the target, but that just makes them more enjoyable."

"True, but is this worth the effort? Sure we get to brand him for life, but what else do we get from this?"

"The girls stop swooning over him, you don't get beat up on a daily basis, peace and quiet, take your pick."

"They will ignore him, but there will only be peace and quiet until they choose a new target, then it will be right back to the way it is now."

"I see your point, I don't think he would have cared anyway. He doesn't seem to enjoy the girls' attention. He'll suffer more if we leave him alone. The only difference is that you need to stop your damn complaining, start trying to win over Hinata or something, I don't care what as long as I don't get caught in the middle."

"If winning her over was so easy, I would have already."

"It's not like I said you had to tomorrow. You still have the rest of the academy and after that till one of you die. Preferable of old age, but the life of a ninja walks hand in hand with death."

"Speaking of death, you're one lucky bastard."

"I told you you'd be surprised by what I go through living by myself."

"I thought you meant starvation, not assassination. You must have done something to really piss that person off."

"I've pissed off a lot of people, I have on idea who he was, but he was a Uchiha. I saw his Sharingan, but it wasn't as strong as Itachi's."

"What do you mean?"

"Tomoes, little comma-like marks, the more there are the stronger it is. Three in each eye is the strongest, that's what Itachi had, this guy had one in one eye and two in the other."

"Then yours is stronger?"

"What are you talking about, I have one in each."

"No, when you showed me there were two in each."

"It shouldn't have advanced yet, I've only used it for a few minutes at a time at most. It doesn't really matter though, I don't plan on becoming dependant on it like they did. It seems that telling you was one of my best decisions."

----------------------------

Gokakyu no Jutsu- Great Fireball Technique Jujin Bunshin- Beast Human Clone 


	5. Chapter 5

Two years had passed since Naruto had revealed his family to Kiba and they were sitting in class. Kiba was moping again and Naruto was get aggravated. "You couldn't get a girl if you were the last man on the planet. Hell, Sasuke has better luck getting his fangirls off him than you are getting Hinata to notice you."

"It'd be easier if you weren't around when I try."

"So tell her you want to talk about me over a lunch or something and tell how much of an asshole I am. But I'm warning you now, if you resort to branding me like we were going to Sasuke, I'll neuter you mangy ass. Hell I don't even care if you tell her why I ignore her feelings anymore. I get the feeling she's watching me everywhere I go and it's really starting to creep me out."

"You're one heartless bastard, that will crush her."

"At least then you'll have a chance. Besides, there are worse things than finding out your crush doesn't feel the same." He looked down at his right hand and clenched it tightly before opening it again.

Kiba saw that his left hand was shaking on the table. "Naruto, you all right man?"

"It seems that I produce more chakra than my body can handle, that's why I can't make clones. I have to use a genjutsu on my eyes everywhere I go in case it becomes active. Kakashi and the old man know something, but they're not telling me. They're having me work on control by walking up trees, on water, and up the side of the Hokage Monument in hopes of getting it under control. Needless to say, it's not helping. The old man tried to get a Hyuga to look at my inner coils, but the head of the clan refused."

"You could ask Hinata."

"Not a chance in hell, she'd probably think that it means she has a chance with me. Besides with my luck, it would turn out I'm dying and wouldn't be able to get away from her. There is one thing that I can think of that could fix my problem, but I'm not sure if the old man would agree to it."

"What?"

"I tell you if he agrees, no reason to get your hopes up. I'll ask him later."

"Alright class, today we'll be performing the three basic jutsu, bunshin, henge, and kawarimi. We'll be going outside to give us more room." The students all stand up and leave the room. "Naruto, I need to talk with you."

Naruto slowly moves toward Iruka. "Yes Iruka-sensei?"

"The Hokage has informed me that you are to go to his office instead today. He didn't mention why, but it must be important if he's pulling you from class."

"I understand, I'll go right away. I needed to speak with him anyway."

"I'll see you tomorrow Naruto." Iruka left the room as Naruto leapt out the open window.

------------------------

Naruto was walking along the tree line as he made his way toward the Hokage tower when he felt a pressure building in the pit of his stomach. He grabbed his stomach in pain. "Not again damn it." He ran into the trees and kept going until he couldn't contain it any longer. Red chakra burst from his body, singeing his clothes and charring the trees within a five-foot radius.

"Why does this keep happening? At least I wasn't inside this time." He looked down at his clothes. "Damn it, there goes another one, I need some fire proof clothes." He use henge to conceal his tattered clothing and started toward the tower again.

He reached the office five minutes later to find the Hokage and Kakashi waiting for him. "Old man, I have something I need to ask you."

"What is it Naruto?"

"You know every jutsu in the village right?" Sandaime nodded. "I like you to teach me a jutsu that uses an insane amount of chakra."

"What for?"

"I think it may help me with my chakra problem. I can use the jutsu to keep it at a normal level."

"I'll consider it. Now down to business, Kakashi and I have been talking and we've decided that you should know why you have this problem, but this is a secret like that of who your parents were. First off, I need to tell you that the day you were born the Nine-tailed Fox, Kyuubi no Kitsune attack this village, among the dead was your mother. In the end it took Yondaime's life to stop it."

"I already know this, it's how Kyuubi died."

"That's why I'm telling you this, Kyuubi isn't really dead. No human can kill a demon, Yondaime gave his life to seal him away."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"The only container strong enough to imprison a demon is a human body, the jutsu he used required his life and a newborn in which the demon would be sealed. I'm sorry to say that you were the only baby born that day. What I'm trying to say…"

Naruto was livid. "What your trying to say is that I'm a fucking sacrificial lamb and that I'm demonized for it! Obviously the children don't know or what few friends I have wouldn't want anything to do with me, but it's the reason why I'm attacked and spat upon by the villagers."

"Unfortunately, it is. Despite my efforts, they refuse to believe that you are only the container. The most I could do was pass a law that forbids anyone from telling the younger generations about it."

"Lot of help that did!" Naruto felt the pressure returning. "I so sick of you keeping shit about me from me! First my parents and now that I house the very demon who took my mother from me!" The pressure was almost to the breaking point, but Naruto released it nonviolently. It swirled around him in an arm width line "It's not even my chakra."

"Naruto…" Sandaime stared in shock as the red chakra engulfed Naruto. When it finally dissipated, Naruto was gone. "Kakashi, find Anko and have her go to the monument, he goes there when he wants to get away from other people." Kakashi disappeared in swirl of leaves.

-----------------------------

Naruto had indeed gone to the monument, but instead of being at the top, he sat on top of Yondaime's head. 'This man ruined my life. If it was for the good of the village, what does that make me? Aren't I part of the village?' He sighed. 'If they had their way I wouldn't be.'

"You know how much of a pain in ass it is to get here brat?"

"Why didn't you or the others tell me?"

"Listen kid, I agree you should have been told, but Kakashi and Sandaime believe it would be better for you not to know."

"Then why tell me at all?"

"Those bastard villagers tried to kill you several times, they must have decided that you should know why. Only they can tell you the real reason."

"It would have saved time, probably would have been less painful too."

"Why would you say that, you have no idea how people will react to your death!"

"I meant for me. Kyuubi's chakra is tearing me apart and it surges are getting stronger everyday. Sooner or later it will burst from my body. Besides, I know how the villagers will react, they'll celebrate, very few people will mourn my death. Those who do will get over it eventually and their lives will go on."

Anko hit him on the head, sending him smashing on to the stone. "You have no fucking idea what you're talking about. No one who cares about you will get over it. Kakashi would probably take his own life for failing to protect you too, Sandaime is too old to bare that kind of loss, and they rest of us who have come you care about you will blame ourselves for not being able to help you more!"

Naruto slowly pushed himself back to his feet. "You have no idea what I go through everyday because of the bastard that I'm forced to carry! I have to look over my shoulder every minute of every day for fear of what they'll do and if they find out about my father. Even with the clan's death, I have no intention of ever making it known that I'm a Uchiha." He released the genjutsu he had over his eyes and the henge. His eyes were the two tomoe Sharingan and his clothes were tattered from the Kyuubi's explosive chakra.

"They wouldn't give a rat's ass if you were Yondaime's son, who you are doesn't matter to them. All they see is the demon you contain. And who says that I don't know what you're going through?! I know better than anyone else what it's like to be hated by almost everyone!"

"You choose to be how you are, my fate was forced upon me!"

"You're not the only one to wear masks brat. We both use them to hide our pain, the only difference is how. I have a seal that was forced on me as well, they hate me because of who gave it to me. This man's cruelty would probably put a demon's to shame." She took off her trench coat and turned around before pulling down her collar. On her shoulder was a circle of three tomoes and another circle of kanji around it. "My old sensei, Orochimaru, used me as a guinea pig."

A sharp pain erupted in Naruto's head and Naruto grabbed his head. Kyuubi was slamming himself against the bars that contained him. **"OROCHIMARU!"**

"He placed it on me knowing that I might not survive, as well as several other children. I was the only one to survive and I ran away from him. He betrayed Konoha before that and I never knew, so when I returned they all believed me to be a traitor, only the old man trusted me. Because of it I work alone on mission unless absolutely necessary. If it wasn't for the seal on top of it, he would have control over me and could kill me in an instant if he wanted."

"What a pair we are, both hated for reason beyond our control, cursed to carry the burden of others, and can be killed by those curses. If I should die because of his chakra, I wonder if I'll be allowed into heaven or if being bound to him will send me straight to hell. If I'm sent to hell, at least I'll see you all again, there not really any way for a ninja to get to heaven with the life they lead."

"There is a way to overcome your problem, you just have to expel the excess chakra."

"I don't have a jutsu that requires enough energy to do that, it comes back just as fast as I can use it. I would have to use an insane amount to level it out."

"Well, there is a reason why people think I'm crazy."

"Yeah, the way you go from pissed off to giddy in an instant and the bloodlust you have."

"You don't have to resort to flattery to get me to help you, all you have to do is ask."

"You have a jutsu like that?"

"Not me, but the old man does, he wanted me to bring you back to his office."

"I don't want to face him again just yet. I need to find a deserted place to release the pent up chakra, the Shunshin didn't take as much as I thought it would. Anko, do you know of any place I don't have to worry about being seen or about anyone else being around?"

She smiled sadistically. "As a matter of fact, I do. Training Area 44, also known as the Forest of Death. I'll show you how to get there, but you have to tell me more about how you did Shunshin."

"Not much to tell. I wanted to leave and thought of this place while I was using Kyuubi's chakra and then I was here. I can show you if you want."

"By all means, I want to see this." Naruto channeled some of Kyuubi's chakra into his hand. Anko's eyes widened as the chakra surrounded him and then he and it disappeared. When it appeared again, he walked out of it smiling and holding four sticks of dango. "I've never seen a Shunshin look like that before, normally it's a puff of smoke, swirl of leaves, sand, mist, and stuff like that."

He hands her two of the sticks and starts to eat his own. "The chakra used is replaced by the time I appear, that's why I need something stronger. So where is this Forest of Death?"

"Follow me, but you'll have to use those genjutsu again. Your eyes are still active and you look like you've been through hell."

"I needed to get some new clothes pretty soon anyway, these were getting kind of tight."

Anko laughed. "That's what you get for eating all that ramen."

"Look who's talking, I've seen the amount of dango you eat at a time." He put his hands together and used henge to look like Iruka. She glared at him. "I don't want to bring any attention to myself."

"You could have at least chosen someone that I hang out with."

"I've seen you hang out with Iruka."

"Not just the two of us!"

Naruto smiled. "Then what should I do, you don't ever hang out with any one person alone."

"Very funny brat, now either turn back to yourself or chose someone else that I could stand to be with."

"That's cold Anko." In a puff of smoke, he turned into Ibiki. "Happy?"

"It will do. Come on, we're wasting time." They used Shunshin to reach the base of the mountain and Naruto followed Anko to the area she had told him about.

------------------------

"This is it."

"Doesn't look like much."

"The animals inside are enormous, and most of the plants are either poisonous, large, deadly in other ways, or all of them."

"Still doesn't sound that bad, but at least it lives up to its name. Can't say I can."

"Most people can't, besides why would you want to live up to the name of a fish patty in ramen?"

"That wasn't the meaning I meant." He jumped up into a tree on the other side of the fence and turned to face Anko. "I don't want you to follow me. I don't know what will happen when I start, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you were hurt."

"I can't let you go by yourself, Sandaime would have my head!"

"I have to do this myself incase I speed up the process. If I accidentally set off the chakra, I'll be isolated and no one will be hurt by it."

"I'll give you an hour, after that I'm coming to find your dumb ass, but you owe me for this. I expect to be treated to all the dango I can eat."

"You know I can't afford that, but I'll do my best." Naruto released the henge and disappeared into the trees.

------------------------

He traveled for twenty minutes at the fastest pace he could manage. He stopped, panting and sat down to catch his breath. "That should be far enough. Time to start." He started to focus all the red chakra to swirl around him like he had done the first time he used chakra in class. The chakra was visible and when he looked, he saw that his nails had turned into claws. The chakra was swirling around him in a towering column. It scorched the earth beneath him, making the ground bare.

He kept this up until he started feeling the draining and saw that the chakra was thinning. "It's working." He stopped and his hands returned to normal, and almost instantly, the chakra he had used was being replaced. "Damn it, nothing I do can stop it!" He sat down against a tree and he closed his eyes to think of another way.

When he opened them, he was in what looked like a sewer. "What the hell? Where am I?" he looked around and the only thing he saw was a red light straight ahead of him. He shrugged. "Might as well, I don't know how to leave anyway." He started toward the light and saw other passages, but kept going, despite the foreboding feeling he was getting. "Why does this feel so familiar? I've never been here before, yet I feel like I have."

He finally reaches the light and takes a deep breath before step through the opening. "Holy shit!"

----------------------------

**Kawarimi no Jutsu- Body Replacement Jutsu **

**Shunshin no Jutsu- Body Flicker Technique**


	6. Chapter 6

He finally reaches the light and takes a deep breath before step through the opening. "Holy shit!"

The room before him was void of anything, except a large set of bars, spanning most of one wall, at the center was the doors, and the only thing holding them was a piece of paper with the kanji for seal on it. Two large blood red eyes appeared behind the bars. **"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU ARRIVED, I WAS BEGINNING TO WONDER IF YOU EVEN CARED THAT YOU COULD'T PERFORM THE BASIC SKILL OF YOUR CHOSEN PROFESSION."**

"You were pumping excess chakra into me on purpose? You could have killed me!"

**"I WOULDN'T PUSH YOU THAT FAR, I HAVE A STAKE IN YOUR SURVIVAL."**

"So you're also the reason I heal so fast. Why would you care if I live or not, and why did you push your chakra on me?"

**"I NEEDED TO GET YOU TO COME HERE TO TELL YOU THAT MY LIFE IS BOUND TO YOURS. IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU DIE, SO DO I AND I HAVE NO INTENTION OF DYING UNTIL OROCHIMARU AND MADARA UCHIHA ARE DEAD FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE."**

"I don't know any Madara, but if he's an Uchiha, he's already dead. All but three were killed, Itachi, Sasuke, and me. As for Orochimaru, he betrayed this village before your attack, no one knows where he is now."

**"SO THE HUMAN SPOKE THE TRUTH. DAMN THAT MANDA, HE SHALL PAY FOR DECEIVING ME!"**

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Kyuubi growled. **"SHOW SOME RESPECT BRAT, I'M KYUUBI NO KITSUNE, STRONGEST OF ALL DEMONS."**

"Then you must all be pathetic if you were beaten by a mere human!" Kyuubi growled again, but Naruto just crossed his arms and stared into his eyes. "You are an unwelcome guest and nothing more to me. I have been attacked and spat upon because of you being within me, so I shall say what I want to in my own mind."

**"UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS LOGIC IN THIS. VERY WELL, I SHALL TELL YOU WHY I ATTACK AND WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE ATTACK ITSELF."** Naruto sat on the stone floor and listened without interrupting while the Kyuubi told the very long tale.

"So Orochimaru attacked you, causing you to attack us. Because you were too stupid to see that Yondaime told you the truth and a snake lied to you, I got stuck being your living prison. So I'm hated all over a misunderstanding." Naruto started laughing. "My life just gets better and better. So, who was this Madara you were talking about?"

**"HIS CHAKRA WAS MORE SINISTER THAN EVEN MY OWN, BUT HE CAME TO ME AND I GAVE HIM POWER. IN EXCHANGE I WAS TO RECEIVE A CHILD OF HIS CLAN TO TRAIN. WHEN I WENT TO CLAIM MY PAYMENT, HE REFUSED. HE USED THE GIFT I GAVE HIM AGAINST ME AND ALSO ALLILED WITH TWO OTHER MEN. ONE COULD MAKE WATER OUT OF THIN AIR AND THE OTHER COULD CREATE TREES. I WAS INJURED AND NEEDED TO HIBERNATE TO REGENERATE."**

"The man who could make water could have been anyone with enough training, most famous was Nidaime. The other man could only be Shodaime, he was the only person to ever be able to use Mouton, but that would have been over fifty years ago. Madara would have been long dead by the time the massacre happened."

**"I FELT HIS CHAKRA FROM HERE ONLY TWO YEARS AGO."**

Naruto's eyes widened. "Sasuke! I thought his chakra felt familiar, but didn't know why! It was because of you, his chakra is like that of the man you were talking about."

**"THEN I WILL DEMAND MY PAYMENT FROM HIM."**

"You have your payment already. I'm an Uchiha as well, and I need your help to control your chakra anyways, so why not train me so I can stay alive long enough to kill Orochimaru?"

**"AGAIN YOU SHOW WISDOM DESPITE YOUR AGE AND HOW YOU ACT TO THOSE OUTSIDE."**

"Should I take that as a complement and an acceptance?"

**"YES, TO BOTH. I WILL TRAIN YOU TO USE MY CHAKRA TO ITS FULLEST ABLITY. I COULD ALSO GIVE YOU THE SAME GIFT I GAVE MADARA WITHOUT THE SCARIFICE THE OTHER UCHIHAS WOULD HAVE TO PAY, BUT NOT UNTIL YOU FULLY DEVELOP YOUR SHARINGAN."**

"Thank you, but I don't want it. I have no intention of becoming dependent on the Sharingan like the clan did."

**"A WISE CHOICE, TO MUCH USE OF THIS GIFT CAN DRIVE A PERSON INSANE, YOU WOULD DO WELL TO TELL THE OTHER REMAINING UCHIHAS THE SAME."**

"It's too late for Itachi, he was the one to kill the others, he spared his brother Sasuke and myself. He was the only one of the clan to know that I was part of it."

**"YOU SHOULD ALSO LEARN THE SKILLS OF THE OTHER HALF OF YOUR FAMILY, THOUGH I DO DETEST DOGS. THE JUJIN BUNSHIN WON'T HELP YOU THOUGH BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE AN ANIMAL PARTNER."**

"I'll ask Kiba, he's the only one who would help me anyway." Naruto thought for a moment and decided he should ask. "Kyuubi, what is the price that the others had to pay?"

**"THEY HAD TO KILL THEIR BEST FRIEND, ONLY THAT WOULD AWAKEN THE MANGEKYO SHARINGAN."**

"Madara did that? How could someone do that?"

**"MADARA WAS THE FIRST SO HE DIDN'T, BUT HIS DESCENDENTS DO AND YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHAT PEOPLE WILL DO FOR POWER."**

"Thank you for agreeing to train me, with your help I will kill Orochimaru and get your revenge, and maybe find out why Itachi killed them, even if he has gone mad, there must be something of his old self left if he didn't kill Sasuke and myself."

**"I HOPE YOU'RE RIGHT, I WOULDN'T WANT TO FOR YOU TO HAVE TO KILL HIM, HE MEANS A LOT TO YOU, AND WE OWE HIM FOR PROTECTING US SO MANY TIMES."** Naruto faded from the mindscape and when he opened his eyes again he was sitting in the forest again. **'YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY CHAKRA ANYMORE KIT. I HAVE SLOWED THE FLOW TO YOU, BUT CAN'T STOP IT.'**

'Then I should start out, Anko will be coming to find me soon.'

**'ACTUALLY KIT, TIME MOVES DIFFERENTLY INSIDE YOUR MINDSCAPE, OUT THERE ONLY A FEW MINUTES HAVE PASSED.'**

'That's interesting, though I'm not sure how it works. If I could find a way to replicate it out here, I could get more training done in a short amount of time.'

**'IT'S WORTH TRYING. YOU'VE SURPRISED ME, YOU SHOULDN'T HIDE YOUR INTELLIGENCE FROM THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. IT IS RESPECTED, EVEN AMONG DEMONS.' **Naruto smiled and started out of the forest.

-------------------------

Anko sat outside of the fence. "That's it, an hour passed and he still hasn't come out. I'd better go find him." She stands up to turns to the forest to see Naruto coming out. "Your late brat, I was just coming to get your sorry ass!"

"Sorry Anko, but it was worth it, my chakra problem is under control now. Oh well, looks like fun time's over, I have to tell the old man that the problems fixed and apologize for biting his head off earlier. I'm just so sick of having things kept from me."

"Hey Naruto, there was someone looking for you, a girl."

"Let me guess, she was a Hyuga with short hair."

"How did you know? Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, she's not my girlfriend." 'Though she would like to be. Damn Kiba, he needs to stop beating around the brush and tell her.'

"She seemed pretty upset, even I felt bad about lying to her."

"She must have seen my problem with the Byakugan. This is exactly why I was glad the Head of the clan refused to have someone look at my inner coils. I knew they would think I was dying, of course I probably was."

"It wasn't that kind of upset, she was pissed. Either you said something you shouldn't have, or she sick of being ignored."

"Oh shit, Kiba did tell her. He dug my grave. I'm going to die when she finds me."

"What did he tell her?"

"Why I don't like her in a girlfriend sense. I can never go back to class. I'll use a different name and a henge all the time, even when I'm alone just to be safe. Most importantly, I will never talk to Kiba again."

"You won't die tomorrow."

"How would you know?"

"Because, I felt so bad I didn't lie to her." She pointed and Naruto spun around to see Hinata standing not five feet from him. He gulped and tried to run for it, but Anko stopped him. "You're going to have to face it sooner or later, might as well get it over with."

"You know I could still leave."

"No you can't."

"Watch me." He started gathering chakra, but a sharp pain ran through his body, then another and another. "Shit, I forget about Juken." He fell to his knees.

Anko smiled. "I'll leave the two of you alone."

Hinata walked around in front of him. "Why?!"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you just tell me you weren't interested in me, instead of letting me believe you could care about me?"

"I do care about you, just not in the way you want me to. You are a sweet, kind, and caring person. I wish there were more like you in the village, but those are the only feelings I have towards you. I would like to have you as my friend, and I was afraid that if I told you, you would resent me for it."

"But you had no problem with Kiba telling me?!"

"He loves you, and he's my best friend, I'll gladly put his happiness before my own. If that was the only way for you to get over me, then so be it. He is the greatest guy I've ever met, I don't deserve to even have him or you as a friend. I admit that I'm an asshole." 'Must run in the family.' "But you should give him a chance, he a lot like a dog, he's extremely loyal, he does kind of smell, but I'm sure that you could get him to do anything, and most importantly, he won't keep secrets from you."

"And you would?"

"Of course I would. One I wish no one knew about, and another that I only want a few people know. He keeps that one, that's how I know he loyal. He's known for over two years and has never let it slip. Unless I announce it, he'll probably take it to the grave. There are some things that should remain unsaid, those were his words when I told him. I trust him with my life, basically the only thing I have of value."

"You shouldn't have had him tell me how you felt, but it wasn't his fault and he does deserve a chance."

"Would it be too late to say I'm sorry and ask to be forgiven?"

"It's not to late to say sorry, but you must prove you should be forgiven."

"Thanks Hinata, you won't regret it."

"Good. See you in class tomorrow." She turns around and leaves.

"Anko, you can come out now."

"See, I told you that you wouldn't die tomorrow."

"You're an evil bitch, you know that."

"I wasn't going to let her kill you. Your just lucky she did block your chakra or your secret would have gotten out." Naruto stood up and smiled when Anko's jaw dropped. "You let yourself be chew out?"

"Well, at first she did block the flow, but because of his chakra is so strong it broke through. But she was right, I should have told her. It seems that it's genetic to be an asshole in the Uchiha clan."

"Whatever kid, let's go. The old man's expecting us." They both used Shunshin again and reappeared in the Hokage's office.

"Welcome back Naruto."

Naruto noticed that Kakashi was no longer present. "I have some good news old man, I no longer have a problem with Kyuubi's chakra."

"I'm glad to hear that Naruto." Sandaime took a deep breath. "Naruto, I'm sorry that I have withheld these things from you."

"You don't have to apologize, if anyone should it would be me. I know you were trying to protect me, but I don't need protection from my past. The only one who does is Orochimaru, he shall pay dearly."

"What do you mean Naruto, what does he have to do with this?" Naruto recited what Kyuubi had told him to Anko and Sandaime. "How do you know all this Naruto?"

"I've spoken with Kyuubi, He couldn't stop the flow of his chakra, but he slowed it enough that it won't effect me. In exchange for this, I'm to kill Orochimaru when I am strong enough to."

"Orochimaru's ass is mine brat, no one but me is going to kill him!"

"Anko, as much as Kyuubi hates to admit it, there's a chance that even with all the his power that I still might not be able to kill Orochimaru. He said he would give me the Mangekyo Sharingan like he did Madara, but not have to pay the price otherwise required. I would prefer not to resort to that, but if it's a choice of life or death then I will. And I know for a fact that Itachi paid the price, he has the Mangekyo Sharingan. Extended use will drive him insane, if it hasn't already."

"Did you learn anything else from Kyuubi?"

"Not from him, but it seems that when using large amounts of his chakra, my body changes. The only one I could see was that my nails turn to claws, there may be others, but nothing I could see."

"I see, you should try to avoid using his chakra around the villagers. Many will remember the feeling and it will only strengthen their belief that you are the Kyuubi."

"I understand, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going home. I've had enough for one day and would like to get some rest."

"Of course, I see you later Naruto."

"Later brat." Naruto bowed and disappeared in red chakra. "That kid is skilled well beyond even Itachi at that age."

"That he is, and probably even more than he lets on. If he actually tried in class, he would graduate years before the others. He's loyal to the friends he does have and especially his cousin Kiba. I have no doubt that he would give his life to protect any of them."

"He'd throw himself between any force and this village because this is where they reside, even though the rest despise him." The old man just nodded as he light his pipe.

----------------------------

Naruto was already sitting at his desk when the others came in, most were surprised that he would be there so early, let alone in his seat. He tried not to make eye contact with any of them. When Hinata came in he dropped his gaze to the desk surface. He heard the chair next to him being pulled and turned to see Kiba. "How did it go with Hinata?"

"Okay I guess."

"You don't have to lie, I know you told her, and I'm glad you did. She came to find me and demanded to know why I didn't tell her myself. We not on friendly terms, but she doesn't hate me either. Talk to her at lunch. She could probably use the comfort."

"Did everything go alright with the Hokage?"

"I got it under control now, in fact because of those exercise, my chakra control is better than most chunin. After class, if you don't have anything planned, could you met me at the monument again?"

"I'll tell you for sure after lunch."

"That's what I expected." Naruto smiled and turned back to the front. Hinata sat looking back at them. Naruto nodded to her and she smiled.

"Sure you set her right?"

"Yeah, in fact I put a good word in for you. She probably won't ask, but she knows that you're keeping a secret of mine. I told her you were extremely loyal, using that as evidence."

"Thanks man."

"Not a problem, I told her the truth last night and I will never take back my words. You should ask her about it, you may learn a few things you didn't know about me." Kiba just snorted as Iruka walked in.

"Okay class, we're going to continue what we were doing yesterday, and if we have time maybe some sparring. Alright, everyone outside." The students all filed outside. Once everyone was in the field, Iruka begin. "We'll start with the henge, then the kawarimi and then finally the bunshin. Shino, you're up." The class moved through this quickly, almost everyone turning into Iruka, except Naruto who turned in to Gai and, to the dismay of Iruka, did his signature pose. Kiba rolled on the ground with laughter.

The kawarimi went just as smoothly. But when it came to the bunshin, Naruto found that he still couldn't perform it. 'I don't get it. My chakra level back to normal, and my control has skyrocketed, so why can't I do this simple fucking jutsu?'

'MY CHAKRA IS STRONGER THAN A HUMAN'S. EVEN THE SMALL AMOUNT THAT MIXES WITH YOURS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO MAKE THE JUTSU IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DO.'

'Damn it, I thought you said I be able to now.'

'I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT SOMETHING COULD REQUIRE SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT.'

'Maybe the old man will know of a different kind of Bunshin I can use.'

"Didn't you say it was under control?"

"It is, it's not going to kill me, but I still produce too much to grab such a small amount for a clone, but there are other types that need more chakra, I'm sure the old man or Kakashi can teach me one of them."

"I hope so, I don't want to be stuck with the cold bastard. Even if Hinata was part of the squad, I couldn't stand being with him."

"Just because you're not on the same team as genin doesn't mean that you won't be on another mission. If the skills needed place the two of you together, you'll need to be able to work with him or you'll both die. You don't have to like each other, but you need to be able to trust that the other will have your back. "

"Yeah, yeah. I get lectured enough at home. When the hell did you get so damn preachy?"

"I'm having as hard a time as you, and want not to be on the same team with him more than you do. There may be a time when I have to use it on a mission and above anyone else, I don't want him to know."

"I know, but if I'm put on his team, one of us is going to end up dead."

"Be careful, he's pretty decent in a fight. If we do spar, I don't think I'm going to participate, I have to keep a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Time for lunch, afterwards, we'll be in the classroom to learn theory." Most of the students groaned, but ran off for lunch.

Kiba watched as Hinata walked away to sit by herself, and when she sat down he turned back. "Wish me luck…" Naruto wasn't standing behind him anymore, and he was nowhere in sight. 'What the hell, where did he go?' He shrugged and started over to Hinata. 'I'll find out later.'

Naruto watched from on top of the academy. Smiling, he disappeared in a swirl of red chakra.

----------------------------

Naruto appeared before the Hokage. "Sorry for my intrusion." He bowed.

"It's alright Naruto. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if there was another form of Bunshin that I could learn. Even though I have more control over it, I still can't get a small enough amount to make regular clones."

"There are several types, but I only know one. Though I believe that Kakashi can use mud clones, water clones, sand clones, and shadow clones, you should ask him."

"Thanks old man, I gotta get going I'm afraid, I need to get back to class or I'll get another lecture from Iruka-sensei." Sandaime laughed and Naruto bowed before leaving the same way he came.

----------------------------

"What happened to you, you just disappeared."

"I went to see the old man."

"How did you get there and back in time?"

"A new jutsu, I'll show you later. So can you make it or do you have other plans?"

"As long as it doesn't take long, I meeting her around five."

"Shouldn't take that long. In fact I should even be able to show you the jutsu too." Kiba smiled, but Naruto was sure that it was because Hinata was paying him attention and he was happy for Kiba. "With all the things I told her, you'd better not fuck it up. She'll think I lied to her and you've never felt the Juken used on you, it's not something I want to experience again."


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, I'm here. What did you want to talk about?"

"Just a second, first I'll show you the new jutsu." He walked up to Kiba and placed a hand on his shoulder. He surrounded them in his chakra and then they were standing on top of the craved face of Shodaime.

"How the hell can you do Shunshin Naruto? It's a jonin level skill."

"I did it accidentally yesterday, and I've been able to since then at will, probably because of the Sharingan. No one I'm worried about can get here, so down to business. I was wondering if you would teach me the basic skills of the Inuzuka clan."

"Why learn when you could use the Sharingan to see it once and be able to do it?"

"If I did that, I wouldn't have earned the right to use it. I'll work my ass off to do it and if I should still fail so be it. I won't resort to taking the ability, especially from my own family."

"I suppose I can try, but I don't know how much help I'll be."

"Thanks Kiba. I plan to kick Sasuke's ass next time."

"Good, if you don't I was going to kick your ass."

"Like you could. Besides it's not wise to insult your only way off here." Kiba looked around and then gulped. Naruto laughed. "Don't worry, I wouldn't leave you up here. You've got to meet Hinata and I already told you I didn't want to get on her bad side." He repeated the process, and appeared at the base of the mountain. "Take a bath first though, you smell like shit, and I doubt she would appreciate you showing up with that god awful smell."

"Maybe you're right about that. Don't want to leave a bad impression."

"See you tomorrow, tell me how it goes." He lifted his hand in goodbye and disappeared in red chakra. Kiba looked stunned and then ran home to get ready.

------------------------

There was a knock on the door and Kakashi reluctantly moved to open it. Naruto stood outside. "Didn't expect to see you for awhile, figured you'd still be mad."

"Can I come in, it's not something we can talk about out here." Kakashi moved back inside and Naruto followed after shutting the door. "My chakra problem has been fixed. Kyuubi was nice enough to slow the flow of his chakra, though he couldn't stop it. It shouldn't effect me, but it's still enough to make doing Bunshin impossible for me. That's why I'm here actually, the old man said that you knew four other types, I was hoping you would teach me one."

"He could have taught you the one he knew."

"Yeah, but with all the work he has to do already, he wouldn't have time. I think he also wanted to make sure that I would talk to you sooner. I was planning on telling you that I'm okay anyway, you should know about that at least. You also have a more to choose from. So, will you help me?"

"In all the time you've known me, have I ever refused to train you?" Naruto thought for a minute then shook his head. "Well then, which did you want to learn?"

"I've never heard of shadow clones before, what element do they use?"

"They don't, these clones are solid, use more chakra then regular ones, but are created the same way."

"I think I'll go with them, it could give me the advantage in a fight because if they appear like normal clones, people won't expect them to attack."

"Hmm, you know I never thought of using them like that, but it could a good strategy. I'm impressed Naruto. Okay when do you want to start?"

"Right now if possible." Kakashi just pocketed his book and lead him to the training field beside the memorial to the fallen ninja. Naruto had come here once a week to pay respects to his parents, both of whom had their names engraved in it.

"Do you plan on using the Sharingan, or working for it?"

"I'll do it myself. Even the fox detest using it for taking abilities, but he's an honorable… being, I guess that's the best word for him now."

"We could be here awhile, best get started." Kakashi made a single seal, using his index and middle fingers to make a cross. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A line of ten Kakashis appeared and each pulled out the orange book from a breast pocket. Soon after, he dismissed them.

Naruto smiled and made the same seal. He started drawing on his chakra, he wasn't sure how much more chakra was needed to make these clones, so to be safe he used the same amount that it took to use Shunshin. A large cloud of smoke appeared and when it dispersed, thirty Narutos stood in the field. In another, they were gone.

"You used more than enough chakra, but for a first attempt it's pretty good. Since your problem is that you have so much chakra, instead of working up the number of clones, I want you to try for just one. When you've done that, I'll tell you something interesting about shadow clones that could come in handy later."

Naruto nodded and went to try again. 'Just to be safe, I better try the smallest amount I can.' He tried again doing just that, but nothing happened. 'Well at least I know I can make only one. Maybe as much as Kawarimi.' He made across again, and this time there were only five Narutos. 'Still too much, but five's getting closer. The only thing less that I know of is Henge.'

Kakashi was watching, very amused from atop one of the three wooden posts near the memorial. He wasn't the only one, Anko watched from a nearby tree. "In three attempts he has gone from thirty to five. He might be able to learn this before dark. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I'm not surprised you noticed, but the brat hasn't. Something changed after he met with Kyuubi, it's like he's not the same kid anymore."

"He has shown more intelligence. He thought of a way to use shadow clones has an ambush, but it would probably only work on stupid or low ranking ninja. Regardless, the method could have been useful during the war because of how the villages were sending out such young ninja."

"So he thought of something you didn't, it's probably suicidal like every other battle tactic he comes up with."

"Actually, this one could be used as a distraction as well. Depending on how the enemy reacted to the clone, the user could either attack as well or run if the enemy prove too strong."

"He didn't say that did he?"

"No, the way he said it, he used it as a surprise attack. The enemy would think it's a normal clone and be surprised when it suddenly attacks."

"That really isn't that bad of an idea. Look, he's trying again." They both stared out towards were Naruto stood, his hands were together in a cross and his eyes were closed. There was a pop and a puff of smoke, standing there was two Narutos, both were smiling and started walking towards Kakashi. Anko dropped out of the tree and walked over as well. "Nice job kid."

"Hi Anko. I was wondering who Kakashi was talking to. Even if I didn't mean to, the Sharingan activated and I could see his mouth moving under his mask. But because of the damn thing, I couldn't tell what he was saying. You been here long?"

"Yeah, I saw your first try. We were actually talking about the use for shadow clones you came up with. And I must say, coming from you, it genius."

Naruto pouted. "That's not very nice Anko. I talked Kyuubi into helping me, and Kakashi said he was impressed by it."

"He also said it's flawed."

Kakashi put his hands up, but Naruto expression never changed. "I never said that, but there are some things about it that could be improved."

Naruto shrugged. "I never said that it was perfect. I said that it could give me an advantage in a fight and catch people off guard, if only for a moment. Even the best tactics could use improvements."

"You learned that jutsu faster than I had expected for not using the Sharingan, so as a reward, I'll take you out for dinner. But first, what I promised you. When shadow clones disappear, you gain the knowledge they had. You can use them to learn jutsu and to gain information from text but not anything physical, that you have to do. So Naruto, where would you like to eat?"

'Great, more ramen.' Naruto gave his answer, but it wasn't what either jonin had expected. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I said, I wanted to go to that dango place you like Anko." He smiled at their shock.

'Sneaky brat, he plans on have Kakashi pay for what he owes me.'

Kakashi could swear he felt his wallet getting lighter already. "Alright, let's go."

----------------------------

Naruto woke up the next morning with his head pounding and didn't know where he was. He looked around. 'This place is a fucking mess!' Wherever he was, he had slept on the couch and was about as big as his apartment. The door just to the left of the couch swung open to reveal Anko and a bundle under her arm. She smiled when she saw him.

"Finally wake I see. You're such a light weight, you only had one cup."

She started laughing, which made his head throb. Then the memory of the dinner rushed back to him.

_Flashback:_

_Anko and Naruto sat on a bench outside the restaurant, while Kakashi sat against a tree read from his orange book. Anko had a bottle of sake and was still eating, when she finished a stick, she threw it at the tree. They had been there awhile, so needless to say, there was an outline of Kakashi of dango sticks. The bottle was nearly gone, but Anko didn't seem to be even slightly drunk, though she did smell of alcohol._

"_Hey Naruto, you did so well today, that I've got something special for you. You get to try a cup of sake."_

"_Anko, you know he's too young to drink."_

"_It's not like it's gonna kill him, it's one cup not the whole bottle." Kakashi just sighed as she pour the sake and put it in front of Naruto. "Go on kid, try it." Not one to back down, Naruto picked it up and finished it in one gulp. Bad idea, his throat started to burn and his reaction caused Anko to laughed. The last thing he remembered was Kakashi moving over to him before he passed out._

_End of Flashback:_

"You're evil, pure fucking evil."

"I do my best. Here." She threw the bundle over to him.

"What is it?"

"Some new clothes, you said you needed some and that orange thing that you wear screams 'Here I am!'"

"I like orange, but you're right. It's got me into trouble before." He pulled open the bundle and inside was a sleeveless black trench coat with a red spiral on the back, a pair of black boats, which when he picked up he found that they were weighted, some dark blue pants, and an almost blood red T-shirt. He ran up and hugged Anko, much to her surprise. "Thanks Anko."

"No problem brat, pretty soon you're class will be able to disable genjutsu, then where would you be?" He gulped and hugged her tighter. "Besides, even though it was funnier than hell, I wanted to make it up to you for last night."

"Sake doesn't taste as good as I thought, but it's still not bad except the burning."

"That was because you drank to fast, you suppose to sip it."

"You don't."

"That's because I'm use to it and I've drank stronger stuff before." He thanked her again and left the room to change. When he came back, he was smiling and there was no trace of the genjutsu. Anko's jaw dropped. 'How long has he used a genjutsu? His hair is close to mid-back.' "How long did you have a genjutsu on?"

"Since I found out about Kyuubi, why?"

"Your hair's so long, it looks like you have for months."

He reached back and felt his hair on his back. "Hmm, I guess it is pretty long, could have to do with Kyuubi. Maybe another change from when I use his chakra."

"Hold still, there's something else different about you." She walked over and looked him up and down before realizing what it was. "It seems that you got taller too, by about seven inches. You keep this up and we'll only be able to know it's you by those whiskers of yours."

"Anko, what do you think, cut my hair or leave it?"

"Long hair doesn't suit you, and it gets in the way during battle."

He nodded after thinking about it. "Would you help me cut it, I can't see the back to do anything."

"Sure brat, any particular way you want it?"

"Actually there is, but I don't know how to describe it, so I'll be back it a minute." He disappeared in a swirl of red and reappeared holding a picture. "I borrowed it from Kakashi." He pointed at the picture. "Could you make it like that?"

"I do my best." He turned around as she drew a kunai for her pouch. After a half hour or so, she stopped and led him to the bathroom so he could see. "It may not be exact, but it's pretty damn close."

"It's perfect, I couldn't be happier with it." She smiled and left when there was a knock on the front door.

When she opened it Kakashi stood there. "Kid, Kakashi's here!"

"So he's awake, that's good. Iruka would have my head if he missed class because you gave him sake."

"He's better than wake, he's got a whole new look to him, but I won't ruin the surprise." Kakashi went to sit down while Anko searched the cabinets for something to eat. 'What the hell is take him so long.' "Brat, get your ass out here, you have to go to the academy today remember!"

"I heard you the first time! I was trying to find something in my old clothes." He walked out and Kakashi was stunned, Naruto looked like a blonde Obito, but his clothes had Anko written all over it. He walked over to Kakashi and handed him the picture. "Sorry, I needed to borrow that so Anko had a basic idea of how I wanted my hair cut."

Kakashi was at a loss for words and Anko was smiling in the kitchen. "I told you, he's barely recognizable. How many people do you think will know it's you when you get to class?"

"Kiba and Akamaru at least, maybe Hinata, Shikamaru and Shino. Everyone one else is too absorbed in something else, the girls with Sasuke, Choji eating, and the rest just don't give a damn. I gonna go now to see how Iruka will react."

Anko's smile widened. "Just be sure to tell me afterwards, I hold it over his head for awhile." Naruto nodded as red chakra surrounded him and he was gone.

Kakashi still sat stunned on the couch. "He's progression is astounding, if he keeps going like this he'll surpass most jonin in two years, he could very well be at Sannin level by the time he's eighteen."

"I don't think rank matters to him. Protecting those he cares for is more important to him then any title. The Hokage himself said Naruto could have graduated by now."

"I doubt that this is connected to Kyuubi, it may be the strongest demon, but he didn't even have excess to its power until a little while ago. By then he had the second stage Sharingan and knew almost every fire jutsu I do. He's never used the Sharingan to copy techniques, but he learns them at impossible rates. The only one Kyuubi's affect was the Shunshin, he used it out of the desire to leave and because the Sharingan was active, he can use it at any time now."

"He's definitely someone to keep an eye on through, look at how the last two turned out."

---------------------------

Iruka walked into the classroom to prepare for class, but was startled to find someone else there. He drew a kunai and moved into a defensive stance. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"That really hurts Iruka-sensei." The person looked up with a fox–like grin.

Iruka took a slow step forward. "Holy shit, is that you Naruto?"

"The one and only. You know I think that's the first time I've heard you curse Iruka-sensei."

"Yeah well I had good reason. What happened to you?"

"I had my hair cut, and Anko bought me some new clothes because my other ones weren't wearable anymore."

"I can tell she picked them out."

"Yeah she did, but I like it. My old clothes were hot and restricting, these are comfortable, easy to move in, even with the weighted boots. The coat's got a lot of extra pockets for scrolls and stuff."

"I glad to see the two of you are getting along so well."

"Yeah, we're a lot alike. Hey Iruka-sensei, could we do sparring again today, I promise I won't use jutsu again."

"I suppose we could, and since the whole class knows some jutsu, I can allow those three."

"Thanks Iruka-sensei. I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat before class, see ya then."

"Alright Naruto, but be on time."

"No problem." Iruka jumped back as Naruto was surrounded by red chakra and disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto was sitting in his seat when the other students arrived, some didn't pay attention to him, others had to do a double take and some looked like they were going to faint from shock. All the while Naruto just smiled and waited to hear what Kiba said. When everyone was seated he saw that Kiba stood at the door with his mouth open. Naruto just raised his hand and kept smiling. Kiba quickly came up the stairs, stopping only to say good morning to Hinata.

"That's one hell of a make over Naruto. I thought these girls didn't interest you?"

"They don't. I not trying to impress anyone, a friend of mine bought these for me as a gift. If I didn't wear them she'd gut me in the blink of an eye, just ask Iruka, he knows her too. Besides, I like them."

"Her huh, sounds to me like you got a girlfriend."

"She's at least twice my age, and she is the most sadistic woman I've ever met. I tell her that and she takes it as a complement, one of the only good things about her is she let me have some sake yesterday, though she probably won't again, Kakashi wasn't happy about it."

"Your full of shit. No one would let you have sake, no matter how shit faced they were."

"Believe what you want. We're doing sparring again today, and are allowed to use the three basic jutsu."

"How would you know?"

"I came earlier to ask of we could, there's a trick I want to try."

"But that means you can't use you _other_ jutsu."

"So, I don't need it for what I have planned."

Iruka walked into the classroom. "Everyone outside, we're doing some sparing today." When they were on the field Iruka explained the changes and asked who wanted to go first. Naruto's hand was in the air before the question was finished. "Alright Naruto, who else?" Everyone else looked a little nervous. "He's already promised to only use Henge, Kawarimi, and Bunshin."

Naruto smiled. 'It's still a Bunshin, even if it isn't the same.' "Come on Kiba, you keep saying you can beat me, prove it."

"Fine I will."

Kiba walked out on to the field and Iruka smiled. "Naruto vs. Kiba. Ready?" They both nodded. "Begin!" Iruka jumped out of the way, but neither moved.

"What's the matter Kiba, you scared?"

Kiba snorted. "Yeah right, like I'd be scared of you."

"If you're not going to attack, I might as well." He ran forward with speed Iruka found hard to believe since he knew Naruto was wearing weights. He threw punch after punch, slowing them to get Kiba overconfident. It was working, Kiba was dodging every punch and the smile he had was grow larger by the minute. Kiba block one punch and threw one of his own. Naruto let it hit him and was surprised by the power behind it, it sent him skidding backwards a few feet.

"I thought you were better than this Naruto." The only response was Naruto make a hand sign Kiba hadn't seen before. A cloud of smoke surrounded Naruto.

The other students saw Naruto run out the back of the smoke and start toward the surrounding woods, but before he got there the smoke disappeared revealing a clone. "Damn weighted boots!"

"That was you plan? Use a clone and attack from the forest? How pathetic."

Kiba started towards him at full speed, but as he was approaching the clone, he saw that the real Naruto by the forest was smiling. Before he could stop, the clone stretched out an arm and clothes lined him. He landed on his back with a loud thud and a groan. Both Narutos placed a boot on his chest. "You lose." The clone puffed out of existence. Naruto moved his foot and helped Kiba up.

"What the hell was that, the clone shouldn't have been able to attack."

"It's a different type, but it's still Bunshin."

"You plan for the smoke to disappear before you made it to the forest?"

"I thought up the plan yesterday before I even learned to use it. And let me tell you, it's a pain in the ass for me to make only one."

Kiba smiled. "You're a sneaky bastard, but you're one hell of a prankster."

They walked over to the rest of the class, almost everyone's mouth was gaping. Most were staring at Naruto, but some had recovered from their shock and were laughing at the way Kiba was defeated. "Iruka-sensei, if you want everyone to get a chance you might want to start the next match."

Iruka snapped out of his stupor. "Alright, who wants to go next?"

Naruto and Kiba moved over to sit against the academy wall. "How things go with Hinata?"

"Better than that match. We had dinner and I walked her home. All we really talked about was our families."

"Do you think I can trust her with my secret?"

"I would say yes, but from what she told me that was one of the reason you gave for not wanting to be with her."

"I never said that, I said I would keep secrets, and that it was one of the biggest secret I have, an easy second."

"Second? You mean you have something bigger than that?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm not even allowed to reveal this one. In size, the one you know was a academy size secret, this one is the Kyuubi of all secrets."

"You free later? I said I would help you, and I got nothing to do today. I'm off at the clinic and Hinata's doing something with her family."

"Yeah, I'm okay with it, but it can't take all night, I suppose to tell Anko how Iruka reacted to my new look."

"I want to hear this."

"He actual swore, though I don't blame him, Kakashi was speechless when he saw me." Kiba was laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face though, priceless." That shut Kiba up pretty quickly. "It was kinda like theirs after our match." Kiba growled, but it made Naruto notice something he hadn't earlier. "Hey, where's Akamaru?"

"He's not very happy with me, I didn't take him with me to dinner."

"Dude, girls love dogs. Wash him up and take him with you next time."

"I guess I could. Your advice did work last time."

The rest of the matches were finished pretty quickly and they headed off for lunch. Kiba had gone off with Hinata and Naruto laid on a branch. He felt the chakra he had come to know as Sasuke's stop under him. "I'm surprised you could get away from you fangirls."

"Shut up, I had to henge into that damn mutt you hang out with in the bathroom to get away."

"Why would you do that?"

"I wanted to ask if you had been able to use you kekkei genkai yet."

"Only for a few minutes at a time, how about you?"

"Unfortunately no. As much as I hate to admit it, I don't know how to."

"You should ask the Hokage, maybe he knows something, and it never hurts to ask. If he doesn't know, I'm sure there has to be some scroll your family kept about it, they wouldn't want something as powerful as the Sharingan to disappear."

"I never thought that you would be giving advice to me, but thanks.

"Don't worry about it. I just want you to get it fast so we can have our rematch." Though Naruto couldn't see it, Sasuke smirked and then walked away. 'Damn Anko, the headache still isn't going away. She could have at least warned me.'

-----------------------------

Naruto and Kiba stood by the fence around the Forest of Death. "There's no way in hell that I'm going in there! My mom and sister told me all about this place!"

"It's not that bad, the only thing you have to really watch out for are the animals, but they're easy to see."

"Why the hell do you want to train in there?"

"So no one sees us, how much trouble do you think you'll get into for teaching someone, who isn't technically part of your clan, your clan's jutsu?"

"I could be disowned, but I rather be alive to be disowned. There are supposed to be cameras everywhere in there."

"I didn't see any the last time, through I wasn't really looking either. Fine where would you recommend?"

"Follow me, there this place that's really isolated, but still big enough for our purpose."

They went clear across the village, to reach this place. Naruto had used henge to look like Akamaru, saying it would give people no reason to follow them. Once in the forest he took on his normal appearance.

It certainly was isolated, the forest was thicker here than anywhere else Naruto had been, and the other side was a river and a small waterfall. 'At least now that I've been here I won't have to walk again.'

"We should start with the Shikyaku, it's a most basic and should be used in addition to the others."

"I don't really have a use for Jujin Bunshin, since I don't have an animal partner and all." 'Not a physical one that is.'

"That's true, but it limits you to only two jutsu I know about, Shikyaku and Tsuga. Tsuga should still be used with Shikyaku though, since it increase your speed and strength and Tsuga requires a great deal of speed."

"That shouldn't be too hard, Anko's already starting to give me weights. My boots are a little heavy, but nothing too bad."

"Yeah, pretty soon you'll being able to move as fast as your mouth."

"You're one to talk, not that long ago you ran your mouth every day and got your ass kicked for it. By a group of weak fangirls no less." Kiba growled, still a bit sensitive about it, causing Naruto to smirk.

"You should stop smirking so much, you're starting to remind me of that asshole." Naruto instantly dropped it, his face emotionless.

"Let's get started, I still got find Anko and knowing her, she won't make it easy."

Kiba nodded and told Naruto about how Shikyaku was performed. He stood off to the side as Naruto tried again and again. He had almost used up his chakra reserves. 'Damn it, why can't I get this? Hey Kyuubi, do you know why?'

'IT COULD BE THAT YOU WEREN'T USING ENOUGH CHAKRA. USE MINE AND TRY AGAIN, IF YOU CAN'T DO IT THIS TIME, CALL IT A DAY SO YOU CAN REST.'

Naruto felt a surge of raw energy and he couldn't even begin to describe the sensation. He made the seals putting as much as he dared into the jutsu. His nails turned to claws, and he feared that he had used too much, but Kiba seemed pleased. Naruto noticed that there was chakra coming off of him, not the red color of Kyuubi's, but light blue.

"Naruto, you did it! But you need to work on some control, your eyes are active." Naruto was down on all fours and moved quickly towards the river. What he saw made him release the jutsu.

'That wasn't the Sharingan, it looked like Kyuubi's eyes. Another effect of using his chakra probably.' Naruto smiled. "That was awesome! Moving around like that felt so natural, it sucks that I can't stay like that permanently."

"I don't think anyone could keep it going for longer than a few hours. You'd be choking down solider pills every few hours. And let me tell you, they don't taste good enough to do it."

"I'm exhausted, but I think I have just enough to get back to the village, it's a hell of a lot easier to Shunshin than try to walk out." Kiba nodded in agreement and walked over to Naruto, who placed a hand on his shoulder. In an instant they were at the academy and they both went they separate ways after a few more insults and some parting words.

As much as his body protested, Naruto had told Anko that he would tell her, so he set out to find her. He went to the dango restaurant first, but no luck. After a few more stops, he could barely stand. "Fuck it, I'll tell her later." He stood in the middle of the street and the people around him started to stare.

He quickly moved into a nearby alleyway and used a small amount of Kyuubi's chakra to do one final Shunshin to get him home. He appeared in the living room/ kitchen and started for his bedroom when he sensed someone else in the room. Whoever it was, either suppressed their chakra or hadn't been trained to use it.

He heard a whooshing sound and felt the blood trickle down his cheek. "Your late."

"Damn it Anko, you almost gave me a heart attack, and what with throwing the kunai?"

"Just because you're too slow to dodge isn't my fault."

"Whatever, I was trying to find you."

"Well, I was waiting here. So how did he did he react?"

"He didn't recognize me until he saw my face, and when he did he actually cursed. I don't think I've ever heard him swear before."

"Really, it's better than I expected, he's not one to be so, what's the word? Uncivil I guess you could put it, he'll never live this down."

"That's nice. If you don't mind, I'm fucking exhausted and I'm going to bed."

"You do look like shit, you probably should."

"You're looking good too. Go bother Kakashi and I'll tell you where he hides those books of his."

Anko's smile grew sinister. "By all means."

"The whole collection is stored in a summoning scroll that he hides in a pile of other scrolls, he moves it around in the pile a lot. But I wouldn't just burn the whole pile because I don't know what else is in it."

"Thanks kid, see ya around." She disappeared in a swirl of leave, and he sighed before going into his room.

'I don't know who to feel sorrier for, Kakashi, who will have a pile of ashes on his floor or me when she notices that he still has the books. Oh well, I deal with it after some much needed sleep.'

-----------------------

Over the next three and a half years, Naruto had become adept at Tsuga and had perfected Shikyaku. During that time, he also learned to use Kyuubi chakra in large amounts, to use demonic genjutsu, only another demon could dispel them, so he could leave the Sharingan open at all times if he wanted to, and the basics of sealing. They were currently heading to the academy for their last day there. "Once we pass this exam, I'll be one step closer to my goal."

"Time sure flew by, I can't believe it's already been six years since Akamaru led me to you sitting in that swing."

"Where is he by the way?" Naruto started looking around.

"Hinata asked if she could take him home last night."

"Whatever, I found out a few of the jonin instructors for this year from Kakashi, he's taking another one even though he's never passed one. Asuma Sarutobi, the old man's son and a smoker. And last but definitely not least, Kurenai Yuhi, the red-eyed genjutsu specialist. Other than that I don't know, but luckily for us, Gai already has a team, I pity the poor bastards."

"I don't, Hinata's cousin is on that team and he's a dick."

"Fine, I still pity the other two through, for both those reasons. I wonder who else will be on the same team as me. Knowing the old man, it will be me and Sasuke with one of his fangirls with Kakashi so when Sasuke get the Sharingan, Kakashi can ask me about it and then help Sasuke to master it. That and he probably hopes I'll decide to tell him I'm part of his clan."

"I don't blame you for not wanting to, I wouldn't want it know that I'm related to an ass like him."

"Unfortunately, I can't announce who my mother is, unless I announce my father too. For now, I'm happy being a Uzumaki, but I don't want to hide who I am my whole life."

They arrived at the academy and the exam went by quickly. Among those who passed were: Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, Sasuke, Shino and Sakura, no one had donned their headbands yet. Naruto watched as Ino came back holding a headband and Iruka and his assistant Mizuki came back into the room. "Congratulations to those who passed, to those that didn't, keep working hard and try again next year. The spot for rookie of the year is a tie between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki as both scored the highest of the class. As this has never happened before, it will be determined in a match between the two. Weapons and jutsu are allowed, but this is not to the death, so don't aim for vitals."

The whole class followed Iruka outside and either stood or sat by the academy wall to watch. Meanwhile the three jonins that Naruto had mentioned, along with the Hokage and Anko stood atop the building as Naruto and Sasuke got into their stances. Iruka shouts 'Begin' and the two boys rushed each other, kunai in hand. The kunai clashed and they fought for dominance. "No holding back this time Naruto." Naruto didn't say anything, just kept smiling.

They jumped away and mirrored each other's hand signs. "Gokakyu no Jutsu." The two fireballs collided, sending off a shockwave, but while Sasuke was knocked back, Naruto used chakra to keep himself in place. Up on the roof the jonins watched with interest, but kept their comments to themselves. "Not bad for a clone huh?" They turned to find Naruto stand behind them. "No one even noticed the switch. So what are you doing here old man?"

"Can't I come and see how the next generation of ninja turned out?"

"You probably just wanted to not have to do paperwork today. These three I can understand because they're scouting out their possible teams, but you Anko, I just don't get why you're here."

"I haven't seen you fight in a while and was curious of what you could do."

"Then I'll show you. Watch closely." In a swirl of red chakra, he appeared next to his clone, which he dispelled right after. Sasuke stood back up, never noticing the switch back. Naruto pulled out five shuriken and threw them before making more hand signs. "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu." Those five shuriken turn into fifty and all impact Sasuke, who turns into a log. Naruto smirks and sinks into the ground.

Sasuke's sitting on a tree branch while looking around, trying to figure out where Naruto will pop up. Said blonde is standing against the trunk of the same tree on the opposite side, trying to think of a good way to finish the match. Smiling, he walks up the tree and continues until he's standing just behind Sasuke. "Looking for someone?" Sasuke turns quickly to find his opponent. He jumps from the tree to be surrounded by clones. "If you give up, you'll save yourself the embarrassment."

"Like I would give up."

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "I figured that would be your answer, too bad really." Naruto nodded and his clones all run towards Sasuke. When it seemed that Sasuke would lose the clones vanished and Naruto was nowhere in sight.

"What's the matter? Are you hiding?" There was no response and everyone was looking around for the blonde. All of a sudden, Sasuke felt something around his ankles and he looked to see hands coming out of the ground grabbing him. He tried to break free of their grasp, but he was quickly pulled down into the ground leaving only his head out. Naruto rose from the earth with a smile on his face.

"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu. Don't feel bad, most can't escape once they're caught, it took me a while before I could. So is the match over or do you want to waste everyone's time by trying to escape?"

Before Sasuke had a chance to answer, Iruka stepped in between the two. "That's enough, there is no need to continue. The winner is Naruto Uzumaki. Those who graduated, be here at eight o'clock to be placed on to teams. Dismissed." While the other students left to find their parents in front of the building, Naruto walked into the forest where he over heard Mizuki speaking with a silver haired man with glasses.

"My master would like for you to steal the Forbidden Scroll for him."

"What's in it for me?"

"You will be rewarded handsomely and given a high ranking position in his village."

"Alright, where's the drop off point?"

"Just outside the village by the east gate, I'll be waiting there until midnight, after that I will leave and the offer will expire. If the scroll you bring is fake, you will be killed, do you understand?"

"Yes, I have some planning to do. If you'll excuse me." The man with glasses nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Mizuki turned around and saw that all the children were heading home. "Looks like the kids are gone, I guess I can't trick one of the kids that didn't pass into taking it for me." Mizuki sighed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

High in the trees over head, Naruto was smiling. "This could work in my favor." Red chakra surrounded him and he was gone.

The Hokage glared at the paperwork that was stacked in front of him when he felt a wave of chakra flow over him. "Old man, there's something you should know."


	9. Chapter 9

Darkness enveloped Konoha as a dark figure snuck past the guards that surrounded the Hokage tower. The intruder ascended the stairs quickly and quietly. Near the Hokage's office, they stopped and picked the lock of a steel door.

It swung inward noiselessly and the intruder crept inside, looking for traps. Finding none, they moved towards the large scroll at the center of the room. The person stopped when they felt someone else in the room. They turned around to see a blonde boy standing there.

"You're not supposed to be here Mizuki-sensei. The old man does like people coming in here."

"Then it's a good thing he doesn't know."

"Who says I don't?" The Hokage moves from the shadows and stands behind the blonde. Mizuki tries to escape through the window, only to be stopped by Kakashi and Anko. "Take him to Ibiki, find out who he's working for."

"Hold on old man, I have a better idea." Naruto whispers into the Hokage ear and the old man shudders, making Anko smirk and all the color fade from Mizuki's face.

------------------------

And what was Naruto's idea, to have the Hokage use a sound barrier on a windowless room and lock Mizuki inside with Gai. Unfortunately for Mizuki, Gai brought what appeared to be a clone, by the name of Rock Lee.

Anko and Naruto sat outside the room and could still hear Mizuki's muffled screams even through the sound barrier. Anko shuddered slightly. "And you said I was evil."

Naruto just sat there with a smile on his face. "I learned from the best, but I kind of feel sorry for the bastard. He's locked in there with Gai and his clone, and what the hell was with the hugging and where did that ocean cliff thing come from?"

"I don't know, but I never want to see it again." He nodded in agreement.

Kakashi come walking up to them. "I'd better go get him out or he'll be too traumatized to tell us anything. Naruto, the Hokage would like to speak with you." He opened the door and they could hear two voices ranting on about the flames of youth. Naruto shuddered and hurried to the Hokage's office.

Naruto poked his head inside. "You wanted to see me?"

Sarutobi smiled. "Yes I did, come in." Naruto walked in a sat down opposite of the old man. "Thanks to you, we were able to keep the scroll from falling into unknown hands, we were also able to do so without alarming the general populace, for which I'm grateful." 'That means less paperwork for me.' "So I have decided to reward you, I'll grant one request as long as it is within my power to do so."

"I would like to be on the same team as Kiba and Hinata."

The old man chuckled. "I had a feeling you would say that. Fine, it's done, but Kakashi's not going to be very happy."

"I know, but I'm not ready to reveal my heritage to everyone yet and if Sasuke finds out, it won't be long before everyone knows. Did he come and ask about the Sharingan yet?"

"Yes, I told him that all I knew about how it was activated was that it would when he needed it."

"Good, if he knew the real way, he would be looking for fights that could get him killed."

"I agree, but I wish you were willing to tell him, if he knew that there was another Uchiha, he may give up his foolish quest to kill Itachi."

"Even with the Sharingan at it's final stage he won't win, Itachi has the Mangekyo Sharingan. It gives him a powerful genjutsu called Tsukuyomi, that creates a world where he controls everything, even the flow of time, and the black flames of Amaterasu, which are hotter than the sun and burn for seven days and nights. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he could go toe to toe with any one of the Sannin."

"I wouldn't be so sure, I trained them after all. Orochimaru, while sick and twisted, knows more jutsu than Kakashi or myself. Tsunade may have a few weak moments, but when it comes to beating people into the ground, she's second to none same with her medical abilities. Jiraiya was Yondaime's teacher and knows one of the two techniques created by him, while he may not have the shear amount of jutsu that Orochimaru does, they have always been equal in power. He is also the best seal master to ever come from this village. They all also possess one of the five summoning contracts of our village, Orochimaru the Snake Sannin, Tsunade the Slug Sannin, And Jiraiya the Toad Sannin."

"What are the other two?"

"Dogs, like Kakashi uses, and the one I use, monkeys."

"I didn't know you could summon old man."

"I haven't in some time, around the same time I handed down the title of Hokage. But that's for another time, you should probably head home, you have a big day tomorrow."

"Yes I do, but before I go, I have two more things I want to ask you."

"What are they Naruto?"

"Is it my decision who knows about who I am and what I carry?"

"It always has been, all I ask is that you tell them that they cannot repeat the information."

'Alright, and second, could you show me the seals for the sound barrier jutsu?"

"So you're finally going to use the Sharingan to learn a jutsu?"

"If it's alright with you." The old man smiled and nodded. Naruto turned on his Sharingan and Sarutobi went through the hand signs. Naruto smiled and thanked the old man before he headed home.

----------------------

The next morning, Naruto was at the academy just after seven thirty, his headband tied to his forehead by a black cloth. He found most of the other graduates there as well, among them was Kiba and Hinata. He walked over to them smiling. "Morning lovebirds."

Hinata blushed and said good morning, while Kiba just smiled. "So, did you worm the teams from the Hokage or Kakashi?"

"I got mine, but not who the sensei was. Hinata, I'm warning you now, if Kiba gets Kurenai Yuhi for a sensei, he'll be drooling over her."

"Why would I be drooling over her when I got Hinata?"

Naruto chuckled. "You say that now, but wait till you see her." Akamaru barked happily from Hinata's lap. Naruto reached down and pet him before sitting down beside them. Naruto looked around at the others who passed, a surprisingly large amount of Sasuke's fangirls had passed. 'Poor Kakashi, he's going to be stuck with a stuck up asshole, a fangirl, and another guy.'

Slowly they started to head into the academy, the three of them sat together and chatted while waiting for Iruka. About five minutes past eight, he arrived in a puff of smoke, a piece of paper in his hand. "Listen up, because I'll only say these once." Naruto tuned out most of it, except when he heard a familiar name. Team Seven consisted of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Shino Aburame under Kakashi Hatake. "Team Eight: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Naruto Uzumaki. Your sensei is Kurenai Yuhi."

Naruto smiled wide. 'Oh this is perfect.' He turned to Kiba with a dumbfounded look and Hinata's full of concern. Iruka said something about Team Nine still in use and Team Ten was Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi under Asuma Sarutobi.

"Your senseis will be here to pick you up in at eleven, until then, you are dismissed, and good luck." He left the same why he arrived, and the door opened revealing two people, one was a man with black hair and a beard with a cigarette in his mouth, and the other was a women in a white and red dress, with red pupil less eyes and dark hair.

The man was the first to speak. "I'm Asuma Sarutobi, Team Ten, let's go." Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji all stood up and followed him out the door.

"Team Eight, be at Training Area 12 in ten minutes." She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kiba's mouth was hanging open. "That's our sensei?"

"Apparently. We'd better get going, Training Area 12 is on the other side of the village."

"We'll be there in no time, just grab on and don't let go." Kiba knew what Naruto was going to do and stuck Akamaru into his coat before placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Hinata was a bit hesitant, but she did the same after Kiba did. Red chakra encased them and with an instant they were standing in front of a shocked Kurenai.

Hinata was just as shocked. "I didn't know you could use Shunshin Naruto."

"I'm just full of surprises."

"Let's introduce ourselves and get to know each other, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future."

"Um, Kurenai-sensei, could we take this inside, there are a couple of things that you should all know, but I don't want to be public knowledge." She gave him a questioning look and he scratched his cheek.

"Alright, I don't have a problem with it. Any place in mind?"

"Anywhere that there aren't people, after that I'll do the rest."

"Fine, then let's head to my apartment, it's nearby and as long as no one goes snooping around, I won't mind." They reached her apartment rather quickly and as soon as they were inside, Naruto closed the door and started making hand signs for the sound barrier. "The Hokage teach you that?"

"In a way." They all sat down except Naruto stayed standing. "The first thing is directed at Hinata and Kurenai-sensei as Kiba already knows. This is the secret I told you about Hinata." He closed his eyes and when he reopened them, they were red with three tomoes in each. They both gasped. "My parents were Kakashi's two teammates, Obito Uchiha and Rin Inuzuka. Only one member from each family knows that. Kiba obviously for the Inuzuka, and Itachi for the Uchiha." His eyes turned back to blue. He stopped and waited for that to sink in before he continued.

He took a deep breath. "Kiba, you remember what I said about a bigger secret than that?"

"Yeah, that even you couldn't reveal it."

"Well I got permission. Kurenai probably already knows, so this is for you two. I told you it was the Kyuubi of all secrets, and it true in more ways than one."

"Naruto, are you sure you want to tell them this?"

"They should know incase something should happen. Do you remember what we were told about the Nine-Tailed Fox's attack?"

Hinata spoke up. "Only that in the end, it killed hundreds and it took Yondaime's life to kill it."

"Most of that it true, except he wasn't killed. Yondaime gave his life to seal him in a newborn. Just before the sealing, the fox yet loose a wide spread attack and destroyed the medical tent that my mom was working in. And only one child was born that day, me." He pulled up the bottom of his shirt and channeled chakra, a seal appeared over his navel. "I contain the demon that killed my mother along with hundreds of others. He was the one that caused my chakra problem and the one who fixed it."

He watched as their faces went through several emotions and then settled on anger. He hung his head. **'YOU KNEW THIS MIGHT HAPPEN.'**

'Doesn't make it any easier.' "I don't blame you." They looked up at him as the red chakra hid him from view and disappeared.

Kiba looked at the other two. "What did he mean by that?"

They looked just as confused, but Kurenai spoke up. "I don't know, but we will when we ask him. Where would he go to be alone?"

"I can think of three places, on the heads of the Hokage monument, Ichiraku's Ramen Bar, and the spot where we train."

"What about his house?"

"Not a chance, he hates that place. It's small and empty, the only thing that's there now that wasn't when he moved in is some clothes and some food. If we can't find him at one of those three places, we should ask the Hokage. Whenever Naruto's involved, he seems to always give in."

"Alright, we'll split up and look, meet back at the training area. Kiba, you go to your training spot, Hinata check Ichiraku's, I'll go to the monument." The two nod and run out the door. She disappears in a puff of smoke.

-----------------------

She appeared on Yondaime's head to find Naruto with his back to her. "I already knew you didn't care about Kyuubi, or you would have done something before. I was a bit worried how you take me being an Uchiha, I remember you saying you didn't really respect or trust any of them except Itachi, but that was before the massacre."

"I know I can trust you to keep those two safe, and you have my respect for taking all the villager's shit and not retaliating, but you lost some of it by running."

"That's what I've always done when it's come to Kyuubi."

"Why did you run from them through?"

"I couldn't take it, the looks of anger they had."

"Naruto, I don't think they were angry at you."

"We'll see." He popped and disappeared.

"A clone?" She sighed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

-------------------------

Hinata approached Ichiraku's and found Naruto sitting in the alleyway. "I'm sorry Hinata."

"For what?"

"For keeping things from you."

"You have a right to secrets, if you didn't want to tell me, you didn't have to."

"Last time you said I should have told you."

"That was different, it concerned me. These ones had nothing to do with me. Naruto, why did you leave?"

"I've been hated by most of the villagers for as long as I can remember, I couldn't stand to see it on yours and Kiba's faces."

"Idiot, I don't hate you." He looked at her with a shocked expression. "I was pissed that the people of this village could hate you for something you had no choice in. It was Yondaime sealing it in you that saved them and they demonize you for it."

"Thank you Hinata. I'm a forgiven about back then?"

"I forgave you a long time ago." He smiled and popped out of existence. "But your clones are another matter." She turned around and headed back towards Training Ground 12. 'Hopefully one of them found the real one.'

------------------------

Kiba walked out of the forest cursing. Naruto stood facing the river. "You couldn't sneak up on a deaf person Kiba."

"Shut up, I can't use Shunshin like you can." Naruto turned around, and Kiba mouth fell open. "What happened to you?"

Naruto's eyes were red with slit pupils, thicker and darker whisker marks, and looked like he had used Shikyaku. "This is what happens when I use Kyuubi's chakra. The day you taught me Shikyaku, you saw these eyes, not the Sharingan."

"So you can use its power too, have you ever used it to fight me?"

"Why would I? Besides, if I did, I wouldn't be here. I would have been killed for attacking a villager. It's more like a last ditch attempt."

"Naruto, I seen the way you looked at sensei's apartment before. No matter how hard you try to hide it, it was pain like when the villagers mutter things and glare at you. I want to know why I saw it."

"Both you and Hinata are my best friends, you know that. I saw the same hatred as the villagers on you both and I couldn't take it."

"You dumb ass, you're not the one I was angry at. I've been your friend for six years, but we're family too, you really think that this matters to me? The villagers may call you a demon, but if they treat you like shit for saving them, then I say fuck them. If I were in your shoes, I may have lost it and let Kyuubi out by now. God knows they deserve it."

"Thanks Kiba."

"Not a problem fox boy, now could you give me a lift, we're supposed to meet the others at the training ground we were at before."

"I think I have enough chakra for that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm a clone, I was sent knowing that you would come here looking, just like the ones at the monument and Ichiraku's. Our job was to see how you each reacted. After we disappear, he decides to shows up or not depending on your reactions." The clone placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder and they were surrounded by red chakra. When it disappeared, they stood in front of Kurenai and Hinata, the clone dispelled a second later.

Kurenai looked really agitated. "I'm really starting to hate those clones."

"I felt that way after he used them on me."

"I told you I wanted to try something and you got overconfident." They looked towards the source and found Naruto sitting in a tree looking at them He dropped down and was hit in the chest by Kiba. "What the hell?"

"Just making sure. How did you know to send clones?"

"I'm not stupid, you know the places I go most often. Since I didn't want to be found right away, I came back here since it's the last place anyone would look. Sorry about the clones, but I couldn't be completely sure, no matter how much I hoped."

Kurenai shook her head. "Any objections to continuing the introduction here?" No one said anything. "Good, Naruto, anything else you want to add?"

"Just that it's my goal to track down Itachi."

'Great, he wants to avenge the clan too.'

As if he read her mind, he shrugged. "I want to know why he did it."

She pointed at Hinata. "I'm Hinata Hyuga, I like pressing flowers and spending time with Naruto, Akamaru, and my boyfriend Kiba. I dislike how the Head house treats the Branch houses, and my dream is to change it."

'Not what I was expecting, but today's full of surprises.' "Okay, your turn."

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka, I like pulling pranks, spending time with Hinata, and training with Naruto and Akamaru. I dislike Sasuke and being the target of pranks." He glares at Naruto who smiles sheepishly. "My goal is to become a strong leader for my clan and hopefully get Naruto to be accept as part of it."

"I told you Kiba, to do that I have to also announce I'm a Uchiha and I don't like the idea of it being widely known that I'm relate to the stuck up bastard."

'I have to have the two loudest people in Konoha. At least Hinata's quiet.' "Well seeing as how Naruto asked for the three of you to be out together, I would assume you can work together well."

Hinata and Kiba looked shocked and Naruto started inching away. "Damn Naruto, what can't you get the Hokage to do? And more importantly, why didn't you tell us?"

"It was a reward. I gave him information that kept a forbidden scroll in the village. Thank god I did too, I would have been on Kakashi's team with Haruno and Sasuke, that just screams dysfunctional. As for why, I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Listen you three, the other teams are going to be put through another test tomorrow, but you won't be because the purpose is teamwork and taking care of your teammates, which you showed today. You are the first three of the nine that will become genin, the others are sent back to the academy, so congratulations. Meet here tomorrow and we'll start doing missions.


	10. Chapter 10

After two months of doing nothing but D-rank missions and training, both Kiba and Naruto complained enough to get the Hokage to assign them a B-rank, but they had to work with Kakashi's team. They were walking down the road with the bridge builder, Tazuna, in the between them. Kakashi and Kurenai were in the front, Naruto and Sasuke behind them, Shino and Sakura on the sides, and Kiba and Hinata bringing up the rear.

"So Sasuke, you get the Sharingan yet?"

"No unfortunately, I asked the Hokage like you suggested and he said it would activated when I needed it. That's all he knew about how to get it, but said he had a scroll on how to advance it. Have you learned to use yours?"

"I can use it, but I still not completely sure what it's capable of. I could show it to you once we stop."

"I think I'll take you up on that."

Sakura looked like she was about to explode. 'Who does he think he is?! He got lucky and beat Sasuke before and now they're talking like they're the best of friends!"

Kiba, having a higher sense of hearing, heard their conversion and told Hinata. "What do you think he'll do?"

Kiba shrugged. "I don't know, but he wouldn't have said anything if he didn't have an idea. He'll probably show him the other eyes just to get him off the subject."

Naruto was smiling on the outside, but he was pissed. 'The old man did it again, I'm stuck with Sasuke for who knows how long, and it's B-rank so I might have to use the Sharingan.' Naruto heard Akamaru growl and looked around, not far in front of them was a puddle on each side of the road. 'It hasn't rain in weeks.' He closed his eyes and turned on his Sharingan. He only opened his right eye because Sasuke was on his left. He saw through the jutsu that hid two ninja in each puddle.

He stopped the flow to his eyes and reached into his kunai pouch. Sasuke saw this and looked for the answer, Naruto nodded at the puddles and Sasuke's eyes widened before he did the same. Kiba and Hinata also had weapons in hand because after Akamaru growled, Kiba told Hinata to look around with her Byakugan, and she saw the chakra of the 'hidden' ninja.

As the two jonin passed the puddles, two chains shot out and wrapped around them. The four ninja come out and with a quick pull, the chains ripped the two jonin in half. Sakura screamed and they laugh. "So much for those two, hand over the old man if you don't want to share their fate." They were all wearing black jumpsuits, like Gai's, air masks, and metal gauntlets, two with chain attachments.

"Not a chance in hell." Naruto steps forward with a kunai in each hand, the one in his right hand was in a reverse grip. "Shino, you and Sakura guard Tazuna." The quiet boy just nodded and spread his arms. Bugs flew out and created a dome around the three of them. "Watch out for those gauntlets, I can smell the poison from here."

"Not bad brat, but it won't save you." The four genin charged forward, Naruto and Sasuke at the two with the chains. They jumped together and connected the chains before launching it at Sasuke. Sasuke jumped out of the way and threw a shuriken and a kunai shortly after. The shuriken caught the chain and hit a tree, while the kunai stuck through the hole of the shuriken and trapped the chain there. "Damn it." They released the chain from the gauntlets and separated again.

Hinata charged towards her target and while he tried to dodge, she closed half of his chakra points and he fell to his knees, unable to stand or move his arms. With an open palm to the forehead, he fell unconscious. She heard Kiba yell 'Tsuga' and turned to see him hit another in the chest. The force caused the man to hit a tree and collapse to the ground at the base.

Sasuke engaged his opponent in taijutsu and was barely dodging the metal claws, but the man got careless and got them stuck in the trunk of a tree and Sasuke flip-kicked him cause him to fly backwards and crack his head against a rock. He turned at the sound of metal clashing. Naruto was blocking jabbing strikes with his kunai, but one of the strikes changed direction last second and sliced open his arm.

Using the kunai in his left hand, he knocked away the gauntlets away and spun around, his right kunai slitting the man's throat. The man gasped for breath and fell to the ground clutching his throat. Dropping the bloodied kunai, he stabbed himself in the right hand with his other to bleed out the poison. The bug dome dropped and Kakashi and Kurenai dropped from a tree. Kurenai went to check on everyone else while Kakashi went to Naruto.

"Are you all right Naruto?"

"I'll be fine, the poison won't get far and what little that does Kyuubi will take care of."

"That's not what I meant. That was your first kill, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. If these guys were sent to kill Tazuna, I'll bet there's someone worse waiting in Waves, they were chunin tops, barely higher than genin. This poison though, is no joke." Looking down at his arm, the wound was turning purple.

"We bought some anti-poison, but since we don't know what kind it is, I'm not sure how much help it will be."

"Enough to buy time for him to get rid of it." Kakashi went to grab it out of the first aid kit and Kurenai walked up to him.

"How is he doing?"

"That mask he wears makes it difficult to tell, but he says he fine. He's also having a hard time expelling the poison, we're hoping the anti-poison we brought will buy enough time."

"Hoping? We should head back if it's that serious."

"We have to keep going, if we head back they'll send more next time."

She turned to find Naruto standing behind them. "Naruto, we have to get that looked at."

"It will be fine sensei, I just need some rest. It's already getting better." The purple color was becoming lighter. Kakashi found what he was looking for and gently took Naruto's arm.

"Hold still." He stuck the needle into Naruto's arm and pushed the plunger. He clenched his fist tight and Kakashi removed it from his arm. Naruto pulled out some bandage wraps and tightly wrapped his hand and arm.

The other five genin and the bridge builder came up to them. "The other three are tied up and the gauntlets melted thanks to Sasuke."

"Alright, then let's get moving." The genin nodded and they surrounded Tazuna again, but the order was changed. Naruto stood on the side while Shino took his place next to Sasuke.

"Naruto, are you sure you're okay, that wound looked pretty bad."

He smiled. "You know I've been through worse, I'll be fine." In truth his arm felt like it was on fire, but he wasn't about to admit it to anyone. Kiba nodded and Hinata turned on her Byakugan, what she saw shocked her. His chakra coils were formed in a spiral in his stomach and the poison had spread through out his whole arm. Red chakra went from the spiral to his arm, she wasn't able to tell if it was gaining any ground against the poison. She turned it off and looked like she was about to cry. Kiba saw this and gave her hand a light squeeze.

Naruto wasn't really with it, as he was speaking with Kyuubi. **'THIS COULD TAKE A WHILE KIT. I'M NOT SURE WHAT I'M DEALING WITH, BUT IT'S POTENT AND ORGANIC. SOMEONE IN THEIR RANKS HAS AN EXTENSION KNOWLEDGE OF HERBS.'**

'Do what you can, I may not be an expert on herbs, but I know what can speed up the process of expelling it. The only problem is finding it.'

'**IT WOULD BE WISE TO START, I HAVE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO SLOW ITS SPREADING, COMPLETELY WIPING IT OUT COULD TAKE DAYS.' **Without a word, Naruto created twenty clones and sent them in every direction.

Kiba noticed and quickened his pace a bit. "What's with the clones?"

"I have them looking for a herb that will speed up the healing process."

Kurenai looked back at him slightly shocked. "I didn't know you knew about herbs."

"I don't know much, but know of a few medical ones. Most of them prefer warmer climates, but I'm hoping to find some." By the time one of the clones came back, they had set up camp and the poison had been pushed back to just under the shoulder. He carried two handfuls of the plant, he gave them to Naruto before disappearing.

He gave the plants a look over and smelled the blossoms, before he ripped a leaf off of one and chewed it. He unwrapped his arm, and took the chewed leaf and spread it on the cuts and surrounding area, before doing the same with the other leaves on that plant. He rewrapped it and put the rest of the plants into his pockets. Kurenai, who had been keeping an eye on him since the attack, was sitting not too far from him. "What was with all that, you said you know a bit about herbs."

"I do, enough to know that this particular kind has a poisonous look-a-like. The differences are subtle and easy to miss, which is why I checked twice. The first is the easiest to miss, the veins in the leaves of the poisonous one are slightly wider, and the second is they also smell sweeter."

"Sounds like you know more than just a bit."

"I stumbled across a book on basic medical herbs when I was visiting the old man a few years ago."

"So how do you still remember it?"

"Two ways, first is that he let me keep it, and second is that I thought it might be useful, so I read with 'it' on and burned it into my memory. Seems I made the right choice."

"Maybe, but I still think we should have gotten it looked at by a real doctor."

"They wouldn't anyway, and if we went back, there is no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't be leaving again for a long time. I would never hear the end of it from Anko or the old man. Anko would hold it over my head as an example of doing something stupid and reckless. The old man would use it as an excuse to keep me doing D-rank missions until I'm promoted."

"At least you'd be alive."

"I'm alive now. The poison is being pushed back and I found a plant that will speed thing up, there's nothing to worry about sensei."

"You may be fine physically, but what about mentally?"

"Kakashi told you about the mask huh." She nodded. "I wear it to piss off the villagers and I don't when I'm by myself or with you and our team unless they're around. Since we've left, I only used it until we fought those dumb asses because I was pissed the old man teamed us up with Sasuke's team. I still am a little bit, but not as much since they were a big help earlier. I may have been at death's door enough times that it doesn't affect me like it would a normal person."

Kakashi looked up from his book and saw that Tazuna was passed out with an empty sake bottle, and most of the genin were about to drop. "Alright, head to bed. We'll be taking watch in pairs, I'll take the first with Naruto as he's the most awake, and then it will be Shino and Sasuke, then Kiba and Sakura, and then Kurenai and Hinata."

Four of them looked depressed, while Kakashi, Shino, Sasuke, and Naruto were as happy as they could get. Sakura was upset about not being with Sasuke obviously, Kiba and Hinata wanted to be together, and Kurenai didn't want to take the last watch as it might she had to stay up after it, and she's not a morning person.

Kakashi planned to talk with Naruto, Shino couldn't care more or less, Sasuke was glad he wasn't going to be annoyed by Sakura all night, and Naruto was glad he wasn't stuck with Sasuke. Everyone nodded anyways and head off to bed while Naruto created some clones to carry Tazuna. "So what was the reasoning behind the picks?"

"I put one person on each team that is good at tracking and someone who is proficient with taijutsu, or ninjutsu."

"Expect this one, we're both adept at ninjutsu and taijutsu, and you aren't good at tracking, your dogs are."

"And that's why, they keep their noses open and we'll take care of anyone who comes along."

"You just want to read your book some more."

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about something."

"If this is about dad, I don't want to talk about it until we get to Tazuna's place where I know we can talk in private. Out here there are too many place to hide and who knows who's still awake or if Shino has his bugs around. I not saying that I don't trust him, but the old man said it was my decision who knows and I'm not ready for them to know yet."

"Alright, but I want to know if your team knows or not."

"Yes they do, Kiba knew almost the whole time we were at the academy, Hinata had every right to hated me for what I did, but she forgave me, and Kurenai, I've known her for years and she never gave me those looks that the villagers do or called me anything other than my name or kid before she knew it."

Kakashi chuckled. "Are you sure it had nothing to do with the fact that you…"

"Not another word Kakashi, or I'll tell Anko where you really hide those books and you'll have more than just a pile of ashes on your floor to deal with." Kakashi shrugged slightly. "And I'll tell Gai that you said your Flames of Youth burn brighter than his."

Kakashi's visible eye widened. "You wouldn't."

"Just imagine what happened to Mizuki and times that by ten." Kakashi shuddered at the thought.

----------------------

The next morning, Kurenai was pissed at Kakashi, so much so, that he was too afraid to take out his book. They walked from dawn to midday when they stopped for lunch. While they were eating however, she fell asleep and everyone was too afraid of what would happen if they woke her up. They were in a bit of a predicament, as they needed to keep moving. Naruto walked up to her, shaking his head.

He gently picked her up and carried her bridal style as they continued to walk. After fifteen minutes, Naruto was blushing lightly as Kurenai had snuggled closer to him in her sleep. Kakashi chuckled lightly. "If the men of Konoha could see you Naruto, they would be green with envy." Naruto's blush became brighter, while Kakashi smiled under his mask. Kakashi couldn't help it, he loved to embarrass the boy. "I can't wait to see Anko's face when she hears about this. Neither of you will ever hear the end of it."

If Naruto weren't afraid of waking Kurenai, he would have yelled at Kakashi at the top of his lungs. Instead he had to settle for glaring at him and silently plotting revenge. They had reached the ocean in an hour and Naruto stared out over the water in awe. A boat was waiting for them but when he tried put her in, he found that Kurenai didn't want to let him go. He couldn't get out of her grip, and decided to just walk beside the boat. He went out about ten feet before realizing the boat wasn't moving. A most of them were shocked. "Are you coming?"

It was two hours later that Kurenai started to stir. She didn't open her eyes as she felt something warm against her. She thought about where she was and came to the conclusion that Kakashi was carrying her. She squirmed around a bit. "I wouldn't move too much Kurenai-sensei, we're over the ocean and you might fall in."

Her eyes shot open. "Naruto?"

"That's me. Who did you think I was?" She glared toward the boat. "Oh, I see why you were moving."

"What happened?"

"You fell asleep at lunch, and everyone was too scared to wake you up, so I carried you." She saw a slight blush on his face. "We have to kill Kakashi before he gets back to Konoha."

"Why?"

"He plans to tell Anko."

"So, it's not like anything happened." The blush increased and Naruto looked away, Kurenai paled. "What happened?"

"While we were walking, you kind of snuggled closer to me, and when I tried to put you in the boat, you wouldn't let go." Her eye closed and her head fell back to his shoulder, he smiled. "I probably would have done the same." He kept walking, unaware that she hadn't really fainted.

'What am I doing? I should have asked to be put down, but why did I pretend to faint? It is pretty comfortable and warm. No. Bad thoughts, he's my student, I shouldn't be thinking like this, I can't get involved with a kid. But he's on going to be my student forever, and once he's older I could have a relationship with him.' She put her face in the crook of his neck and felt him stiffen before relaxing again. She smiled inwardly at his reaction.

"Don't you two look cozy."

Kurenai groaned inwardly. 'You ruined all my fun Kakashi.'

"This is like a dream come true for you Naruto."

"Would you keep it down, it's bad enough that you and Anko tease me about it, Kiba would never let up if he found out."

'Found out what? What else is he hiding?'

"She woke up for a bit, but fainted after I told her you plan to tell Anko about this."

"Now I have to."

"Wait, you weren't going to?"

"I was thinking about it, but now it's too good to pass up. I wish I had a camera, the two of you look so cute. Imagine everyone's surprise if they saw a picture of Konoha's Ice Queen in the arms of a twelve year old. How long has it been going now, three or four years?"

"Four, now drop it, or I swear that Gai's challenges will become more frequent."

Even through she couldn't see it, she knew Kakashi was pale faced. "Okay, I'll just leave the two of you alone. Don't do anything too serious."

"As long as you don't say anything else, I won't do anything."

"I meant with her. Your mom's gonna kill me as it is for getting you addicted to ramen. And I don't even want to know what you dad will do if you turn into a pervert because of me or Jiraiya."

"Speaking of Ero-sennin, has he sent any word of when he'll be back?"

"He said he'd try to be there in a few months."

"He seemed surprised that Rin was my mom, wasn't he ever told that she was pregnant? She was his niece after all."

"We sent word to him, but he must have never got it."

Half an hour later, Kurenai 'woke up' again and thanked Naruto before asking to be set down. Around that time, a thin mist appeared and they got their first look at the bridge Tazuna was building. They said goodbye to the ferryman and start to move inland.

Naruto became more paranoid as they continued. 'The mist is getting thicker as we go further, but it should get thinner.' He used a demonic genjutsu and turned on his Sharingan. He saw through the mist with ease like Hinata, who was using her Byakugan. Both he and Kiba heard something move behind them and threw a kunai each. Everyone turned to see a white rabbit run from a bush.

'Its color is wrong for this time a year.' Kakashi's eye widened. "Get down!" He pulled down Tazuna and everyone followed suit except Naruto. He heard the sound of something flying through the air and found it quickly, the Sharingan slowed down its movement so it was visible. He reached into the air quickly with his bandaged arm and grabbed hold of the handle.

"Impressive, and here I thought that the jonin had taken care of the Demon Brothers, maybe I was wrong." A figure walked out of the mist, the lower half of his face covered in bandages, he had no eyebrows, and had a Kiri headband off to the side of his head. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but had a leather strap from his striped blue pants around his neck and attached to itself, and black and white arm warmers. "But I should expect no less for someone trained under either Copy-cat Kakashi Hatake or the Genjutsu Mistress Kurenai Yuhi."

"Both actually, along with a couple others. Who are you?"

"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist. A former member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu."


	11. Chapter 11

"You, a demon? Don't make me laugh, a real demon wouldn't use a cheap trick like water clones to do their dirty work." He turned his head and looked at Zabuza, who was standing in the tree behind them. "Or hide in the mist like you do."

"You're pretty good kid, it will be fun killing you." The water clone charged Naruto, but was cut in half by Zabuza's own sword in Naruto's hand. "It's been a long time since I met someone your age who wasn't skittish about killing."

"One of those four sent before you was my first kill. It didn't affect me like it should have, someone like you would probably call that lucky, but it sickens me that I felt nothing. Now enough of this, are you going to fight or talk all day?"

"You must be in a hurry to die, so I'll finish this quickly." He put up the index and middle finger on each hand, placing his right in front of his face and the left stretched out above his head. Mist swirled around him and covered the area in a thick blanket.

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, help protect Tazuna, he's mine." He pulled his headband up, revealing his single Sharingan.

"Fine, this guy is starting to annoy me."

Zabuza's laughing could be heard all around, coming from every direction. "There are eight points on the body that if hit will bring certain death. Liver, Lungs, Spine, Jugular Vein, Carotid Artery, Brain, Kidneys, and Heart, which will I attack first? There are enough of you to hit them all, each in a different person. I think I'll leave the Jugular and the blonde for last."

The genin surrounded Tazuna, Hinata with her Byakugan and Naruto with his Sharingan behind the genjutsu, Naruto still had Zabuza's sword. Zabuza's voice stopped, and a powerful killing intent flowed over them, most of the Konoha ninja started to shake, Sasuke was so scared he tried to stab himself to end it, but his hand was caught by Naruto. "We have unfinished business, and I won't let you die till it's settled." Sakura felt something bump into her and screamed. Everyone turned quickly to find Zabuza standing among them. Kurenai appeared out of nowhere and stabbed him, but instead of blood, water spilled from the wound and then he turned to water.

Kakashi had also turned at the scream and Zabuza took the opportunity to stab him with a kunai, only to have Kakashi turn to water as well, with the real one behind him, kunai to his neck. "Don't move, it's over."

"So you copied my jutsu even through the mist, too bad it isn't enough to beat me." Zabuza knocked away Kakashi's hand and kicked him on to a small lake, he jump on to it as well. "You are on my terrain now." They both started to do the same hand signs. They finish at the same time. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" Two large serpent like dragons rose from the lake, their glowing yellow eyes locking for a moment before rushing forward and crashing into each other, the water is sent back into the lake and cause a wave that is higher than both combatants. When the wave subsides, Zabuza is still standing in the same place, but Kakashi is nowhere in sight.

Zabuza looks around and they hear a splash as Kakashi jumps from the water, only to be knocked back in. He surfaces and tries to stand on the water again, but Zabuza finishes a series of hand signs and the water surrounds Kakashi. "Suiro no Jutsu." Kakashi found he couldn't move, but could breath. Zabuza made a small army of water clones and sent them towards the others.

"Get out of here, his clones can only go so far from him, you are obligated to finish the mission!"

"Kakashi, you know damn well that I won't go anywhere." He made a hand sign despite holding Zabuza's sword. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" An army equal in size to Zabuza's appeared, all with the large sword. Holding the swords with both hands, the army of shadow clones charged forward, running out on to the lake and engaged the water clones. The real Naruto run past, cutting down any that got in his way, sometimes even his own.

He reached Zabuza and swung over his head, Zabuza raised his free hand and stuck his hand into the hole near the end of the blade, holding it away from his chest. Naruto smirked and applied more pressure until it became too much for Zabuza and he had to release Kakashi to keep from being sliced open. Zabuza held up the sword with both hands as Kakashi got to his feet. He twisted the sword and jerked it from Naruto's hands.

Kakashi stopped the blade from hitting Naruto easily. "Thank you Naruto, get back to the others, I finish this now."

"You'd better, I don't want to have to save you again." Naruto started walking back, but he walked backwards so he could watch. 'Looks like I couldn't keep from learning jutsu with the Sharingan after all, first the sound proofing, now three water style, oh well, he's an enemy anyways, and I needed some water jutsu in my arsenal.'

Zabuza jumped away from Kakashi, strapping his sword to his back, and started making hand signs, which Kakashi mirrored. They spoke at the same time. "Stop copying me."

"That eye is starting…"

"To annoy you."

'How did he know what I was going to say? Can he…'

"Read your mind?" Zabuza looked at Kakashi with wide eyes and saw something appear behind him. It was Zabuza standing behind Kakashi.

'That impossible.' Kakashi had finished the hand signs and the water was gathering speed behind him.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" The water swirled at extreme speeds and engulfed Zabuza, who tried to swim against the current, but eventually was smashed against a tree. Four kunai stuck into him, one in both of the legs and arms. Kakashi was in the tree above him, another in his hand.

"Can you see the future?"

"Yes, this is your last battle." He was about to throw the kunai when two needles stuck into Zabuza's neck and her fell to the ground. Kakashi check for a pulse, but found none. "He's dead." He pulled his headband back down and looked at where the needles came from. A masked ninja stood in a tree near by, with the symbol of the Hidden Mist craved into the mask.

The mask was plain except for the two red lines that swirled to the middle of it. The clothes were greenish brown pants and long sleeve shirt, with an aquamarine vest over that and a sash of the same material as the shirt and pants. "Thank you for weakening him for me, I have been tracking him for some time trying to find the right moment to strike."

'He's about the same age as Naruto.' "You're a Hunter-nin."

"Yes I am. This body holds many secrets and I must dispose of it." In a swirl of leaves, he appeared next to the body and picked it up effortlessly. "Please excuse me." He disappeared again with Zabuza's body. Kakashi went to walk towards the group, but fell from chakra depletion.

Naruto created two clones, who went into the forest and grabbed two long sticks, about the same length and relatively straight. Naruto pulled out his blanket and laid it on the ground. He placed the two sticks parallel to each other on top of it, and wrapped the blanket around the sticks so that one end was on top and the other was wrapped on the bottom. The clones picked up Kakashi and placed him on it, they then picked up the makeshift stretcher. "Let's hurry to Tazuna's house."

--------------------------

It was two days before Kakashi woke up and told everyone he believed Zabuza was still alive, unfortunately for him, they already knew because Hinata had seen that Zabuza's chakra was still flowing while the Hunter-nin was talking to Kakashi. Kurenai had them working on the tree climbing exercise while Naruto went with Tazuna to the bridge. He had created shadow clones to speed up the building, and keep watch while he practiced the four water jutsu he had copied. He could easily perform them all, as he had an insane amount of chakra and had clones practicing them too.

Kakashi was moving around the next day with the help of crutches, so he was going to train the others while Naruto and Kurenai went to the bridge. Like every other day, he created some clones to help with the construction, but didn't go off to train because he had already finished learning the jutsu. They sat near Tazuna and the workers at lunch, but far enough away that they could talk without being overheard if they spoke quietly. "How long do you think we have before Zabuza attacks again?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that they either have someone skilled with herbs, or good connections. I know this because the poison that I got from the claws was organic. Which ever it is, it's not good for us, he could be back at full strength by the end of the week depending on what kind of herbs the medicine is made from."

She smiled at him. "You seem to know quite a lot, for saying you only know a bit about herbs."

"It was a very detailed book." She laughed and he smiled, but it quickly dropped. "I'm not sure that, even together, we can defeat both Zabuza and the Hunter-nin. Zabuza was almost able the beat Kakashi, and this Hunter-nin was able to suppress his chakra to the point no one knew he was there until he attacked. He was smart enough to come from down wind so Kiba and Akamaru couldn't pick up the scent. His aim was so precise, it made it look like Zabuza was actually dead and it even slowed his heart enough that it seemed he had no pulse."

"I think we have a good chance, between you and Kakashi, you beat him to the point that the Hunter-nin had to step in, they won't be able to do that again. The boy is a problem through, we have no idea what he's capable of. But I surprised at you, you're always confidant that you're going to win, what's up?"

"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling something's going to happen." They ate in silence for a while, but Naruto wasn't a big fan of quiet. "Sensei, did you really faint that day?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Your breathing was different from when you were asleep." She gave him a questioning look. "Mom was an Inuzuka, so my senses are somewhat enhanced, that how I noticed the poison on the claws too."

"Alright fine, I was awake. Happy?"

"Why pretend not to be than?"

"I was comfortable."

He smiled. "If you wanted to stay there, all you had to do was ask. I really didn't mind at all, it was kind of embarrassing when you snuggled up to me, but even more so when Kakashi decided to comment on it." 'That means she nuzzled my neck on purpose, I wonder why?' "So you heard me and Kakashi talking?"

"Yeah, I was wondering though, what are you worried about Kiba finding out about? And what been going on for four years?"

"I'll answer your questions truthfully if you answer mine."

"I guess that's fair. So do you want me to answer first?"

"Nah, I'll answer first." He took a couple deep breaths. "I've had a thing for you for four years now, and I rather Kiba not know because I get enough crap from Kakashi and Anko as it is." He looked away with a blush on his cheeks.

She chuckled a little and his head dropped. She quickly realized what she had done and stopped. "Sorry, it's just that almost every guy I meet says that, but I didn't know I was also popular with younger guys too. So what's your question?"

"Never mind." He stood up, but she grabbed his arm.

"Oh no you don't, a deal's a deal, what is it?"

He sighed in defeat. "Why did you nuzzle my neck when you were pretending to be asleep?" It was her turn to blush.

"Would you mind if we not talk about it until we get back to Konoha?"

He shrugged. "I don't see any reason why it can't wait till then."

"Thanks Naruto. Come on, it looks like they're getting ready to head back to work." With the help of Naruto's clones, the bridge was ahead of schedule and Tazuna let his workers go home early. "Naruto you said you know Jiraiya didn't you?"

"Yeah, my mom was his niece, he came back a few years ago and taught me the basics of sealing, nothing too complicated, but he was adamant that I learn Gogyo Kaiin. He wouldn't tell me why, but the scroll he gave me to learn from said the seal it counters is Gogyo Fuin. He said he would teach me that among other things when he came back again."

--------------------------

At dinner, Tazuna's grandson, Inari, ranted on about how Gato was going to kill them and that they knew nothing about suffering. The two jonin, Kiba, and Hinata glanced over at Naruto, who they thought would blow up at the boy. Much to they surprise, he kept a calm face and replied. "At least we're doing something about it." He stood up and left saying he was going to train.

He now stood in a moonlit clearing, beating the crap out of a tree. 'Damn brat, he says I know nothing about suffering, I guarantee his family has never tried to kill him. Or has to basically be locked away on his birthday.'

'**KIT, THE BASTARD'S WATCHING YOU.'**

'Yeah, I know. Not like I'm doing anything interesting.' "Did you want something Sasuke?"

"I've got a few questions for you."

"Like what?"

"When am I going to get to see you Kekkei Genkai?"

"I did say I would show you, guess now is as good a time as any." He used only enough of Kyuubi's chakra to change his eyes. "Here it is, I don't know what it's called though." His eyes changed back to their blue color.

"What abilities do you have with it?"

"It actually has some of the Sharingan's properties, seeing through genjutsu, predicting movements, and slowing things down, so much so, that I can memorize hand signs to jutsu if I want to. I also have an increased healing rate, but that may or may not be connected to it, other than that, I don't know as I'm still developing it. Anything else?"

"What was that look all about back at the house, your team and Kakashi seemed kind of worried when the kid was done ranting."

"You know I'm an orphan right?" Sasuke nodded. "I never knew my parents, and I'm ignored or hated by most of the village. They were probably worried that I'd go ballistic and scream at the brat. I know more about suffering than anyone here in Wave. I know that I have the old man, Kakashi, and what few friends I have, but going home to that small apartment where no one is waiting for me, loneliness is by far the hardest thing to overcome."

"I'm sorry to say that I know that feeling, ever since that night, I've almost feared going back there. I grew up in that house, but what I saw there overpowers any of the good memories I have of it."

"Sasuke, I'm sorry that you had to witness that, but at the same time, I envy you." Sasuke looked up confused. "You have memories of your family, whether they're good or bad, I would give anything to just remember my mother's face or voice." Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, but he held them back. "I want to tell you through, before that, I knew Itachi fairly well, and I never believed he would do something like that."

"Neither did I, of course no one wants to think that someone they're close to capable of something like that."

"Can I ask you something Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Did Kakashi give you guys the bell test?"

"Yeah, why?"

Naruto smiled. "He's used that on all his previous teams, and never passed one." Sasuke just smirked and waved as he walked away. He waited till he couldn't feel Sasuke's chakra very well. "Time to start my real training." He channeled his chakra into his right hand and placed it against his left elbow. Moving his hand in a circle in front of his arm, from elbow to hand, he created a disk of chakra there.

He created a clone and handed it a kunai. "Attack me." The clone, knowing Naruto's motive, smiled and swung the kunai, only to have it blocked by the disk, it struck again with the same result. It swung a third time and a crack appeared, a fourth and it broke. "I still need to make it stronger." He created another, but it was slightly easier to see. "Give it your best shot."

The clone smiled evilly and started making hand signs. Naruto's eyes widened. 'Oh shit.' The clone finished. "Shikyaku no Jutsu." It started towards him. "Tsuga!" The clone turned into a swirling mass of dark color with a stripe of red. The disk held up to the attack, and he was able to throw off the clone, but it tried again. After ten minutes of this, the disk had taken over twenty hits from the Shikyaku empowered Tsuga, and both the clone and Naruto were panting.

'So it's not that I have to use more chakra to make it, but that I have to keep putting in more. Definitely not a long-term jutsu, even with my reserves, it took almost all of my chakra to keep it going that long, but could be useful in a pinch. Still, the amount I put in stood up to Shikyaku Tsuga five times before needing more, it should be able to handle anything Zabuza can throw at me.' He dismissed the clone and sat down beneath a tree. 'I'll just rest for a minute and then head back.' In seconds, he was asleep.

When Naruto woke up, his hand wrapped tightly around a kunai, before he opening his eyes. His grip relax slightly when he saw a girl in a pink kimono with red spirals all over it, and a basket at her feet crouching beside him. "You shouldn't sleep on the ground like that, you could get sick."

Naruto shrugged " It's never happened before, but thanks for your concern."

Her eyes wandered over him and landed on his headband. "You're a ninja?"

"Yep, I was out here training, but I guess I fell asleep. Why are you out here by yourself, I've only been here a few days and I already know this place is crawling with thugs, it could be dangerous for you."

"I'm collecting herbs, and I suppose you're right about the danger, would you mind helping me?"

"Sure, what am I looking for?" She pulled out a plant and handed it to him. "Did you get all of the ones you already have from one place?"

"Yes, why?"

"This plant is poisonous. You must have mistaken it for one of these." He pulled out one of the plants his clone had found. "You do know how to tell the difference don't you?"

"That the veins in the leaves are large in the in the poisonous plant, but they look fine to me."

"I see, well that's actually a common, but normal deadly mistake. There is another way to tell." He handed her the one he pulled from his pocket. "Smell it." She did and he gave her the other one. "Now the poison one." Again she did and her eyes widened. "Smell the difference?" She nodded slowly. "Good, now did you need a lot of just a few?"

"I would assume five or six."

"Then you don't have to go anywhere." He pulled them out of his pocket. "You should get rid of those other ones to avoid confusion." She nodded and dumped them on to the ground. Naruto incinerated them with a weak Gokakyu no Jutsu after she took the right herbs from him. "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask your name. I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"I'm Haku. Naruto, do you have anyone precious to you?"

He thought through the meanings behind such a question but still answered quickly. "If you're talking about a girlfriend, no but there is someone I like. If you're just talking about people who I care about though, the answer is yes."

"I meant the latter, but the former would also count."

"Why do you ask Haku?"

"You said you were here to train. I believe that a person can only be truly strong when protecting someone they hold dear to them."

"You know, I don't doubt that, my father gave his life to protect his best friend and save my mother. There is evidence in the history of almost every village of it, even farmers who fended off a group of bandits to protect their families."

She smiled at his comment. "I'm sorry, but I must get going, I have to prepare these so my precious person will get better."

"I should probably be heading back too, or my team will be worried. It was a pleasure meeting you Haku."

"And I you Naruto." She walked off into the forest, and Naruto headed back to Tazuna's house. As soon as he walked through the door, he was nailed in the back of the head.

"You had us all worried sick!"

He looked up into the face of Kurenai. "Sorry, I kind of fell asleep from exhaustion after training." He slowly stood up. "I found something that could be bad news though, you remember that plant I found to get rid of the poison?" She nodded. "I found out that it grows on in this country, meaning Zabuza could be up and around very soon, maybe even a few days if they do have a person skilled in herbs."

"Did you find more?"

"No, a girl was trying to find them and had picked some of the poisonous ones by accident. Before you ask, I have no reason to believe she's working with them, she picked the wrong ones because she didn't know about the difference in smell."

"So, she could have been playing dumb."

"If she was a threat, she would have killed me while I was sleeping, by the time I woke up, she was crouching by my side. I've gone through quite a bit in the village as you know perfectly well, I've had to train myself to wake in an instant when I sense something threatening. I'm lucky Kakashi taught me how to recognize the subtle signs that appear or I wouldn't have made it this far. Just the fact that she got that close is enough for me."

"If you say so, but from now on, no more training so late okay?"

"Okay, so where is everyone?"

"At the bridge, someone had to be here when you showed up, and since I'm your sensei, I got the job. Not that I didn't want to be the one, I got to take a break for a day. So what did you do during training?"

"I was working on a jutsu I made, and trying to demolish a tree with my bare hands."

"You serious?" He nodded. "You have to be the weirdest of the three of you. By the way, Tazuna told Kakashi and I that your clones were running off the first few days, care to explain?"

"I copied the water jutsu from Kakashi's fight with Zabuza and used my clones to master them."

"How many jutsu have you copied?"

"Five. The four used in that battle, and the sound proofing one with the old man's permission. I try to not rely on using it to learn jutsu."

"I didn't see you with the Sharingan during that fight."

"Kyuubi taught me some demonic genjutsu that only other demons can see through and remove. I doubt anyone could even tell it was there before." They spent the rest of the day talking about their true abilities until Kakashi and the others returned.


	12. Chapter 12

After that day, they all went to the bridge everyday, but three days after, Kurenai found Naruto out cold just before sunset from chakra depletion. She laid him in the room he shared with Kiba and Sasuke and went back downstairs where she found Kakashi reading. "Do you have to read that filth in front of the children?"

"It's not like I let them see what's in it." 'Of course Naruto found one that I had left laying around once, he was out for hours.'

"Did he tell you what he was working on? He only told me it was something he thought of."

"Well then, it could either be something incredibly stupid and risky, or surprisingly bright and useful. Ever since we told him about the seal, he's shown more intelligence and control over his emotions, but those could both be because of his mask. He hides what he really feels, in an attempt to keep his problems from troubling those around him, and he may have been using it to hide his true potential before that because he was friends with Kiba and wanted to graduate with him. The Hokage himself told Anko he could have graduated years before them and after seeing how fast he learned all the fire jutsu I know and the Kage Bunshin without using it once, I don't doubt it."

"I've been wondering about that, how long did it take him to learn Kage Bunshin? I've learned not to believe everything that comes from Anko."

"He made thirty on his first try, but instead of having him work up, I had him try for one clone, it took him another three tries to get there. As for your first question, no he didn't tell me, he likes to surprise me with his new jutsu."

"He's created more than one?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he'll show you it because of how Anko reacted." He shuddered. "I just thankful that Jiraiya was there, he started taking notes and giggling. Anko's attention went to him long enough for me to pick up Naruto and escape her wrath. In fact, she told him that if she even heard that he used it again, she would do worse to him than she did Jiraiya, and he was in the hospital for a few days afterwards."

"Do you think he'll be up and around tomorrow?"

"Hard to say, physical problems have always healed quickly, but I've never seen him pass out from chakra depletion before. It's unheard of for him, whatever he's working on is either severely taxing, or he has hundreds of clones working nonstop on it, knowing Naruto it's probably both. We'll have to wait and see, all I know for sure is that he'll be back to normal faster than I was."

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The next morning, there was still no change so Naruto was left to rest at the house. When they arrived at the bridge, the few workers that remained were found slaughter, a thick mist covering the bridge. Through the mist, they could make out two figures, one taller than the other. "Where's the blonde brat Kakashi? Don't tell me he got scared." Zabuza started laughing.

"No, he'll be sorely disappointed that he missed this, but he has another job to do."

"Is that so, maybe I'll pay him a visit after we're done here. Business before pleasure I suppose." In seconds, thirty water clones stood between the two groups. Sasuke and Kiba with Akamaru dashed from the group, starting to cut down the clones. By the time there were done, the area around them was covered in water and neither of them had even a scratch on them. "Haku, I'll leave the brats to you." The masked ninja stepped forward, taking out a senbon needle. (**This is going to be confusing because I'll be referring to Haku as both male and female, but Haku is a girl.)**

Sasuke stepped closer, an arrogant smirk on his face. "I'll take him, go help the others."

"Like hell, you should stand back and let me and Akamaru handle this bastard."

"Like you could do anything against him mutt-boy." The argument continued on slowly escalating till the point they where they would have started to throw punches, if not for the irritated missing-nin.

"Haku, I've had enough of their bickering, shut them up!" Haku just nodded and started making hand signs. Both boys noticed this and charged toward her, but weren't fast enough to get there in time.

"Hyoton Hijutsu: Makyo Hyo Sho." The water from the fallen Mizu Bunshin rose up and turned into a dome of mirrors, twelve on the bottom, eight on top of those and one at the very top. Haku slipped into one and appeared on all of them. "I had hoped not to have to kill you, but I must follow Zabuza's orders, I'm sorry." Each of the images pulled out six senbon needles.

As they did, Kiba and a Jujin Bunshin Akamaru ran towards one of the mirrors, determined to break out. "Gatsuga!" As they spun, Haku let loose a barrage of needles, they both fell to the ground, needles sticking out of them and Akamaru reverted back. Kiba slowly stood back up and moved to check on his champion. "Please be alright Akamaru." The little dog whimpered lightly and Kiba smiled slightly. "Quite a mess we're in huh boy." He strained himself to stand. "Sorry, but by the looks of it, you're going to have to sit this one out. Don't worry, I promise that he will pay for this."

When he turned around, he found that Sasuke was in a similar condition as him. "Seems like this guy is playing with us to me."

"Unfortunately mutt-boy, I have to agree. These needles seem to be coming from everywhere, but I can't figure out how, I didn't see him make clones, or any hand signs for that matter."

'Damn it! Where the hell is everyone? There are more than enough people to protect the drunk, fight the eyebrow less freak, and help us. What the hell is going on?'

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Outside of the dome:

The mist was unnaturally thick, no one could see more than three feet in front of them. Kurenai, Sakura, and Shino stood around Tazuna and an unconscious Hinata. She had fought against some more of Zabuza's water clones trying to reach the ice dome. She had nearly reached it, when one swung vertically, she had barely dodged it, but couldn't dodge the sideways follow up swing. She was thrown across the bridge and if it hadn't been for Shino's Kikaichu bugs, she would have gone over the side.

Kakashi stood looking around, unable to hear his opponent's footstep because of his mastery of the Muon Satsujin Jutsu. His Sharingan was all but useless because Zabuza had his eyes closed, relying on his ears to find Kakashi. "Those brats you brought along won't last long against Haku, no one has ever escaped that jutsu."

Don't be so sure Zabuza, these kids are stronger than you give them credit for. You should have realized that when Naruto fought you before."

"I'll admit Kakashi, the kid is good, but even he is no match for Haku. If he were, he would be here now, fighting for his friends."

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Naruto woke to the sound of Tsunami screaming from down stairs. He rushed out the bedroom door and down the steps, he saw Inari running towards two swordsmen with a kitchen knife in hand. "Let go of my mom!"

Tsunami was crying. "No Inari, run!" One of the men hit her with the hilt of his sword, knocking her unconscious, while the other pulled his from its sheath.

Thinking quickly, Naruto started making hand signs. "Kawarimi no Jutsu." The man's sword ripped through the little boy only to have him turn into a log. He turned to find their hostage gone as well. "People like you sicken me, picking on women and children like that." Both men turn to see Naruto standing in front of Inari, who is untying Tsunami.

"You brat, you're going to die for interfering!"

"Try it asshole." Both men rush towards the trio, swords raised overhead, in a swift, barely visible move, a shuriken was lodged into each of their throats. The swords fell from their hands as their limp bodies hit the ground, staining the earth red. Naruto turned around to the shaken Inari. "You were really brave Inari. I want to take your mom and head to the village, I'm leaving it to you to protect her, can you do it?"

"You can count on me."

Naruto smiled. "Good, then I'll be off, chances are my friends will need my help. I promise you, your grandfather will be alright." The boy nodded and Naruto took off full sprint towards the bridge.

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Kiba crashed to ground, needles raining down on him and Sasuke, but it was not completely in vain, the masked ninja's leg was singed from Sasuke's fire jutsu. "I still can't keep up with him completely, but I can see him."

"I commend you both, but it's time to finish this." Haku took out another six senbon needles.

Kiba struggled to stand, but fell back to the ground. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain of the attack. 'Akamaru, Naruto, I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promises. Hinata, I love you.' He heard the needles flying towards him, and them entering flesh, but felt no pain. Suddenly there was several pops and the sound of metal hitting the concrete. He opened his eye to find Naruto helping Sasuke over to him. "What the hell took you?"

"Sorry, Tazuna's family was attacked." Another Naruto came over, Akamaru held in his arms. "Leave this guy to me." He made a cross with his middle and index fingers. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Three more clones appeared and surrounded them. Naruto stepped out of the circle and nodded. The four clones channeled chakra into their hands and slammed them on to the ground before raising them above their heads. A see through blue dome rose around them and the clones, leaving Naruto outside. "You'll be safe in there as long as the clones have chakra."

He turned his back on them and activated his Sharingan under a demonic genjutsu. 'I have to finish this fast, that shield will only last for ten minutes tops.' Naruto started forming seals at an extreme rate and took a deep breath. "Katon: Karyuu Endan no Jutsu." Haku's eyes widened behind her mask when Naruto let loose a large dragon made of fire. The dragon's mouth open in a silent roar as it rushed forward, slamming into the mirror directly in front of Naruto. The attack lasted only a minute, and the results were less than expected, the mirror was thinner, but still an inch thick at least.

Sasuke and Kiba were shocked and awed, awed by the fact Naruto could pull off the jutsu, and shocked that it seemed it had done barely anything. Haku threw another barrage of needles, which Naruto evaded only taking two or three hits. "You are truly strong, I can see why you over powered Zabuza, but I cannot afford to lose."

Naruto heard the words, but wasn't listening. 'Damn it, I was sure that would work. I put too much chakra into those clones to keep the shield up and now I have only enough for one more attack of that caliber. Think damn it, think there's got to be a way to beat him.' His attention shifted from his opponent to the flickering shield that protected his family members. 'Shit, I wasted too much time.' The four clones disappeared and the shield went with them. Haku also saw this and launched more needles towards them.

Sasuke was able to see the needles with his first stage Sharingan, but neither he nor Kiba, who was holding Akamaru could move in time due to the short range the needles had to travel. Again they braced for the pain, Kiba using his body to protect Akamaru, but again it never came. This time though the only sound was the needles hitting the ground. They looked up to see Naruto in front of them, a new shield raised, the fell just after and Naruto collapsed to his hands and knees. "Too much chakra." His voice was just above a whisper and he brought his hands together again. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A single clone appeared. "Grab on, he'll get you out of here." The demonic genjutsu fell as the Sharingan faded from his eyes.

The clone grabbed Sasuke and Kiba, but Haku wasn't about to let them leave. She threw her remaining senbon needles at the group, most of which were aimed at Naruto. Naruto felt the clone use Shunshin and smiled. 'At least they'll be safe, the others will be able to pick up where I left off.' His eyes closed from exhaustion and as he toed the line between the waking world and the world of darkness. He was brought back to reality by the sound of flesh being pierced and the smell of blood, but no pain. His eyes shot open and saw Kiba bent over him, needles sticking out of his back and a few in his neck. "Why? Why didn't you leave?"

"What kind of family would we be if I left you to die? Besides, you saved me, I had to repay the favor." Kiba fell to the side, his eyes closed.

Naruto shook him slightly. "Kiba, this isn't funny." Tears formed in his eyes. "Come on man, stop joking." He shook him a bit harder. "Get up, you're going to make Hinata worry." The tears fell as he laid Kiba down.

Haku watched, mere inches from her mirror. "Is this the first time you've seen a friend die?"

"Shut up!" The mist started to spin around the two boys, and Naruto's hair grew wider. He lifted his head and Haku was looking into blood red eyes, with slits for pupils and two tomoes in each. **"I'm going to kill you!" **The spinning increased until there was a miniature tornado surrounding him, then it just stopped. Naruto clenches his fists and let's off an inhuman roar as Kyuubi's chakra erupted from him, shattering the mirrors and leaving Haku before him. Naruto blurs from view and reappears in front of her, a fist cocked back and a feral look on his face.

Naruto's fist hits Haku in the center of the mask and sends her flying five feet before crashing as bouncing a few times. Naruto charges forward as his prey stands up, the cracked mask slowly falling. As it does, Naruto's eyes widen in recognition, and his fist stops inches from Haku's face. "Why did you do it?"

"I'm Zabuza's tool, I won't let anyone stand in the way of his dream. Why did you stop, I killed your friend, why don't you kill me?"

"You want to die?"

"I'm no long use to Zabuza, I would rather die than live with no purpose." Haku tells her story of how she came to be under Zabuza. "I'm sorry to that I must make you soil your hands, but please kill me." Naruto raises a clawed hand when the sound of birds chirping was heard. 'Zabuza.' "I'm sorry, there is something else I must do." A single mirror rose from a puddle next to Haku. Naruto grabbed her sleeve as Haku slipped into the mirror, pulling him in as well.

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Zabuza's sword was being blocked by two of Kakashi's kunai when they felt the surge of chakra. "What is that, is that one of the brats?"

"Shit, that's Naruto, your accomplice either really pissed him off or pushed him too far." 'I have to end this before things get too out of hand.' Kakashi slipped out from under Zabuza's sword, but in doing so left him open from an attack, which Zabuza took. Kakashi was slashed down his back, and Zabuza slipped back into the mist. Kakashi unrolled a scroll and marked it with his blood before forming hand signs. "Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu." There was the sound of the ground cracking as six ninken launched themselves from the ground and grabbed on to Zabuza's limbs.

This caused him to lose concentration, resulting in the mist thinning. "You should consider yourself lucky Zabuza, not only have you seen my Sharingam twice, but you get to see my original jutsu as well." Making more seals, a blue circle appears around him and electricity moves from it to his right hand, forming a ball. "Raikiri." He starts to run forward, his arm stretched out in front of him.

He gets closer and closer. Seven feet, a mirror appears off to the side, five feet, Haku emerges from the mirror in front of Zabuza, three feet, Naruto is pulled from the mirror after Haku and knocks her out of the way. Kakashi's eyes widen, but he's unable to stop, his hand and attack strike Naruto in the chest. Blood leaked from the corners of Naruto's mouth and his eyes turn back to their normal blue color.

Zabuza grabs the large ninken attached to his back and swings it around, hits Naruto completely while its hind legs hit Kakashi, ending of the summon making Kakashi stumble for a second. But Naruto was knocked away and hits the low railing, flipping over the side, falling into the water below. Zabuza started to laugh. "Seems the brat wasn't all you made him out to be Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't say a word, he just locked eyes with Zabuza, the three tomoes in the Sharingan spinning wildly, continuing to gain speed until they merged into a three pointed shuriken shape. To Zabuza, the world fell away, replaced by a black and white version, with a blood red sky and slightly lighter moon. He found Kakashi looking up at him, knowing that he was nearly eye level before, he looked and found that he was attached to a large cross. "For the next Seventy-two hours, you will be impaled by the person you fear most. You should consider yourself lucky, it could be much worse."

Kakashi faded from view and was replaced by a shark-like man with what looked like gills under his eyes. "Kisame!" fear leaked into his voice and the shark man smirked while taking a large wrapped object off his back. Thrusting the object forward into Zabuza's gut. Zabuza screamed in pain, his head falling and what he saw scared him more. The wound wasn't there, there was no hole, not even a scratch.

With speed greater than Zabuza had ever seen from the shark man, he was repeatedly stabbed, and each time there was no evidence of it. Zabuza was panting heavy, his throat sore from screaming. "It's almost over, just a little longer."

Kakashi's voice answered him. "Only Seventy-one hours to go."

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The leaf ninja and Haku looked on with horror as Zabuza started screaming and fell to the ground, Kakashi falling to his knees panting as he pulled his headband back over his left eye. Clapping rang out over the bridge. "Truly you ninja know how to cause pain and misery! In a second the chibi demon went from over paid murder to screaming heap. Makes my job much easier." Gato and an army of men stood at the unfinished end of the bridge. "Now you leaf ninja will kill Tazuna or his precious family will pay the price, two of my best went and took them not thirty minutes ago."

"You mean us?!" Everyone turned to find every person from the village that was strong enough to wield a weapon standing there, Inari and Tsunami at the front. "Naruto took those two out when they tried." Gato face turned to fear as he saw the looks of the villagers. "We're done living under you Gato, you have no power over us anymore!"

"Fine, if that's how you want it. Kill them all!" The men in the front started forward, only to be bombarded by thousands on ice needles. "What do you think you're doing?! Why are you attack my men?"

"You intended to kill Zabuza, for that you will die." Water rose from the sea and formed more needles.

"You bitch, how dare you threaten me?! I should have killed you when you broke my arm! Men, knock her out and have your fun before killing her!" More men ran forward, more determined than before, and the needles shot forward as well, but there were far too many and Haku's chakra was running out. The men ran past the pincushions that were the comrades trying to get to their promised prize. Without warning, a massive swarm of insects engulf the men and though no one could see what was going on inside, the screams were a good indication they didn't want to.

She couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried. "These men were more like demons than Zabuza, attacking in such a number againist a single person, ninja or not, is dishonorable. That just leaves what to do about him." She looked and saw Gato cowering from the sight. Before anyone could move, a crossbow bolt stuck into his forehead.

"That was for my father bastard." Inari dropped the crossbow to the ground and started towards his grandfather.

The screams ended and Haku turned to see who was behind her. All she realty saw was black hair, sunglasses, and a gray coat the covered the rest of his face. The bugs that had attacked the men flew to him and went into his coat. "What do you plan to do now?"

"I don't know, I lost my purpose when Zabuza died. There's nothing left for me."

"If that is what you believe. You need to rest, your chakra is nearly gone." He held out his hand, which she was hesitant about. "My bugs will only attack those I tell them to, don't worry." She relented and took his hand. He helped her to her feet and supported her while walking.

They reached Kurenai and the others to find Sakura worrying over every little 'wound' Sasuke had received, Hinata wasn't with them, Kakashi was out of it, staring at his blood stained right hand, and Kurenai was worriedly looking around. Haku's head dropped, knowing what it was she was looking for. "You won't find him."

Kurenai glared at her. What did you do to him?"

Kakashi spoke in a whisper. "It wasn't her, it was me." Her stare changed to him. " I was going to kill Zabuza, but her mirror appeared and she came out, Naruto had grabbed her and was pulled out, he was hit. Zabuza knocked him off the bridge."

Kurenai's eyes widened in shock and tears welled. "No, he's survived worse, he can't be…" She couldn't finish the sentence, doing so meant it was a reality.

"Kurenai it wasn't just anything that hit him, it was Raikiri to the chest, not even he would have…"

"Don't say it! He's not gone." She couldn't hold them back and the tears fell down her face. Despite the obvious toll the lack of chakra was having on Kakashi, he made his way over to her and embraced her, her tears soaking his shirt as his own did hers and his headband. 'I should have told him, why didn't I tell him? He asked me and I just put it off, he told me and I couldn't even bring myself to do the same.'

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Hinata knelt beside Kiba, tears in her eyes and Akamaru beside her whimpering. "I sorry Kiba, I wasn't strong enough to help you." Akamaru whined and laid his her on he leg. She reached down and scratched him behind the ears. "I know it's no where close to enough, but I promise to take care of Akamaru in your stead." She leaned down and kissed him.

When she pulled away, there was a smile on his face. "Now that's one hell of a way to wake up." She jumped slightly and he opened his eyes. "What happened?"

She looked down. "I don't know, I was knock out for most of the battle. When I woke up, the villagers and Gato were here and Zabuza was on the ground and Haku, I think, was launching needles at Gato's men. Shino sent his bugs to help and the men all died along with Gato."

"What about Naruto?"

"I haven't seen him since this morning."

"He was here, he protected us. He couldn't have gone far, he was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion."

"I'm sure one of the others will know where he is." She gently helped him to his feet and placed an arm around his waist while he put one over her shoulders. When they could easily see the rest of the group, Kiba stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide. "Kiba, what's wrong?"

"He's… he's gone. Naruto's gone." His voice was just over a whisper, but Hinata heard the sadness in his voice. "Their heading back to Tazuna's house to rest, we need to do the same."


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto woke up on his back in front of Kyuubi's cell, red chakra coming out form between the bars and into his chest. **"Damn brat, what were you thinking? You nearly got us killed!"**

"It wasn't my intension to be hit you know, I was trying to stop her."

"And because of your stupidity, you came so close to death I could see the Shinigami. If you didn't have me, you would be dead by now. As it is, I've pushed as much chakra as I can into you and only barely managed to heal your wound, I couldn't even keep it from scarring."

Naruto had a sad smile when he heard this. "I'm actually glad you couldn't. It will be a constant reminder that I'm not invulnerable or invincible, and that I can't let my emotions run wild on the battlefield. I have to learn to stay calm, or I won't stand a chance when it comes time to face Orochimaru."

"**First you'll have to learn where you are, that man caused you to fall off the bridge. All I know is that you're above water, because even I can't keep you from drowning. Be careful this time, your chakra hasn't fully returned yet and your body hasn't recovered from using mine, so you won't be able to use it without serious damage being done."**

"Thanks for the warning, I'll be careful." He closed his eyes and reopened them to find that he's laying face down against stone, with water washing over him. He slowly got to his feet and looked around, he was in a cave, waves carrying water ten feet into the mouth and there was more to the cave behind him. He couldn't understand it, but he felt like he was being called to go further into the cave, and being Naruto, he did.

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Two days had passed since the incident at the bridge, to which everyone was reacting to differently. Kakashi had barely spoken a word or read his book, instead he had been using Kage Bunshin to help at the bridge. Hinata and Kiba had thrown themselves into training, leaving in the morning and not returning until after dark. Sasuke also spent most of his time training, and though he didn't show it, he was upset about what had happened to Naruto. Sakura was never to far from him, and through she felt sorry from those who were sad, she didn't particularly care. Haku hadn't spoken a word to anyone except Shino, who was constantly watching over her. Even though he didn't really know Naruto, Shino was upset that a comrade had died. Kurenai had taken it really hard, she rarely left her room, and Hinata had taken to eating meals with her there.

Today however was different, Sasuke had slipped out before Sakura had woke up and only told Kakashi where he was going. Needless to say, when she did she went looking for him. Hinata had talked Kurenai into coming out of the room and going out for the day. Kiba and Kakashi went with Tazuna to help with the bridge.

------------------------

**Kiba and Kakashi:**

It was around midday and the workers were taking their lunch break, while Kiba and Kakashi stood off to the side. "Kakashi, what's going to happen about Naruto?"

"Depends on what you mean. If you mean the fox, chances are that the council will remove the law and everyone will know what he contained a few hours afterward. His lineage will probably be left unknown due to there being no way to prove it, and me saying it's true will fall on deaf ears."

"Shouldn't we tell Sasuke and my clan? Don't they deserve to know that one of their family members have died?"

"In normal circumstances, I would say yes, but this is hardly normal. While your clan may be able to handle the news, what of Sasuke? What do you think would happen if he were to learn that he had had family still within Konoha's walls that he never knew about, but had died on a mission they were both on?"

"I see your point. The Hokage's not going to like the report for this."

"No he's not, but Anko and Jiraiya will like it a lot less. But if anyone 'thanks' me for killing him, they will meet the same fate, consequences be damned."

------------------------

**Shino and Haku:**

Haku sat before the grave of Zabuza, his sword stuck into the ground as a makeshift headstone, with Shino standing behind her. "Thank you for helping, I doubt the others would have helped me bury him."

"Probably not." Haku smiled, this was how every conversation they had went, she would say something, and he would reply in the fewest words possible.

"I'm sorry about what happened."

"I didn't really know him, I doubt many did, but he was a comrade and any loss is hard." All she did is nod in agreement.

------------------------

**Sasuke:**

Sasuke stood in the clearing where he and Naruto had spoken, hitting the same tree. 'Damn it! You weren't supposed to die yet! We never got the chance to finish the fight! To determine who is the stronger of us, and which one of our doujutsu is superior!' The Sharingan blazed to life as he started to seal. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A large fireball flew from his mouth and exploded on contact with the tree, followed by it falling to the ground. The Sharingan faded as he sat down panting. 'The Sharingan is draining my chakra quickly, hopefully that scroll the Hokage has will have a solution.'

The bushes near him rustled and he prepare to throw a kunai when Sakura walked out. He lowered the kunai, but didn't put it away. "Sasuke can I ask you something?"

"No matter what I say, you'll ask anyway, so go ahead."

"What was it about Naruto that allowed you to talk to him more on the way here than you have to anyone else, even me, your own teammate."

'We both experienced things that no one should ever have to, but from there we became mirror images of each other.' "We were the same. I'm heading back."

------------------------

Hinata and Kurenai: 

The two kunoichi walked through the outskirts of the village near the south coast of the bridge, neither had spoken much since they left the house. They continued walking in silence until they saw a dark silhouette in the distance and villagers running from that direction, the closest one twenty yards from them. "What's happening, why are you running?"

The woman yelled as she ran with her child in her arms. "Run! A man's been attacking everyone he's sees and he's headed this way!" The woman ran past them and Hinata run towards the next closest.

"Do you know if anyone's been hurt?"

The man slowed to answer before taking off again. "Only a few shallow cuts, nothing too serious. It seemed like he was trying to make his body to stop." The other villagers didn't stop, they just ran past the two as the silhouette became clearer. They went into defensive stances when before they could make out any distinct images. The first thing they noticed about him as he got closer was the sword in his hand that seemed to be made of red chakra. They both gasped as they finally saw the face of the attacker and Kurenai was the first to speak. "Naruto?"

------------------------

Naruto walked deeper into the cave, a ball of blue fire held in his outstretched hand lighting his path. He stopped suddenly a look of horror on his face. The ground in front of him was littered with bones, but not just any bones, human bones. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't suppress the feeling that had called him to venture further in the first place. Unable to resist, he continued careful to not step on the remains, but soon this became impossible as they covered the floor completely.** 'Kit do you really find it wise to keep going, what happens if whatever killed them is still here? In your condition, you won't even put up much of a fight.'**

'Judging by the clothing, I'd say they've been here a while, so unless it was a demon in here, I doubt I'll run into whatever killed them.'

The Kyuubi growled in frustration. **'Fine, but you get us killed and I'll make you wish that your soul were eaten by the Shinigami.'** Naruto found his way to the end of the cave where he found two nearly intact skeletons. Both were set against the walls, one had three ribs on the right broken and the one above and below had slim groves along the same line, he guessed it was from the sword laying near the other 'body'. The other had a thin slit in the spine behind where the stomach should have been.

"They killed each other? Why?" He looked around the area he was in, aside from the two he had just examined, there weren't any bones for about ten feet. Another thing he noticed was that there was only one sword between them. "Both of those blows would have been fatal within seconds, so how did they both die if there's only one sword?"

'**We should leave Kit, something isn't right about this place.'** Naruto nodded and as he turned, he saw something in the hand of the weaponless 'body'. He moved closer to inspect it and found what looked like a bone stained red.

He reached for it. "What is this?" Naruto's hand started to wrap around it.As his grip tightened, a see through, blood red blade erupted from the end. From the end it went an inch straight out where the top went half an inch upward at a 45 angle before going straight again. The bottom went half an inch where it curved downward and back toward his hand, ending an inch from down where it started. From there it went down and at a slant towards the hand, ending when the tip was in line with the handle. It then arched forward till the top and bottom were three inches apart, where the angled towards each other to form the point.** (It's the blade from the Hyperion Gunblade from FFVIII I think.)**

The edge of his sight took on a red tinge and it slowly progressed towards the center. "Kyuubi what are you doing?"

'**It's not me Kit. I think…'** Kyuubi was cut off by another voice.

'_Hehehehe. You are a much more suitable host than my previous wielders. Through you I shall kill every living being.'_

'Who are you?'

'_I have been given many names, all you need to know is that I am the sword.'_

'I don't give a fuck, you can't make me do anything!'

The voice laughed as the redness completely clouded his sight. _'We shall see.' _Naruto was forced to watch as he attacked villager after villager, he had tried to force his body to stop, but had only managed to keep from killing or seriously wounding anyone. _'Your will is strong human, but you will give in sooner or later, it's only a matter of time.'_

That was when he saw the, Kurenai and Hinata, both staring at him shocked. Then Kurenai spoke. "Naruto?"

Within his mind, Naruto was yelling for them to run and the voice laughed. _'So they mean something to you. Watch as you're forced to kill them, then I will control you entirely.'_

Kurenai was smiling while there were tears in her eyes. She ran up to him and threw her arms around him. "Naruto, I so glad you're alive, I thought…" Her tears fell on to his shirt. "I thought you had been killed." She heard him say something inaudible. "What?"

"… run… a… way…" She pulled away and looked into his eyes confused, she gasped at what she saw. His eyes glowed red, but he had neither tomoes nor slits for pupils. Hinata watched in horror as he raised the blade and drove it toward Kurenai's side.

In an instant, there was the sound of flesh being pierced and then the sound of blood falling to the ground, just before Kurenai hit the ground. She looked up at Naruto, who had the blade stabbed through his left forearm, which he had used to push her out of the way. _'What?!'_

His eyes were flickering between red and blue. "This is my body, and I won't let you hurt the people I love!" Naruto appeared in front of the seal facing away from the gate, straight at a silhouette form of himself. "I'm going to end this here and now bastard! You'll have to go through me to get back control!"** (For now I'll be referring to the sword's form as Shadow.)**

Shadow smirked. _"With pleasure, once I defeat you, I will have complete control, and there will be nothing you can do to stop me."_ They both charged forward, Naruto landing a kick to Shadow's side, while he was hit with a left hook to the face. Shadow stumbled and Naruto hit the ground rolling into a crouch. Getting up quickly, Naruto ran forward delivering three punches in succession, the first two to the stomach and the last to the jaw. He followed it up with a spin kick to the head, but Shadow grabbed his leg and sent his own, sending Naruto back to the floor. This time before Naruto could get up, Shadow was there with an axe kick, Naruto rolled out from under it, only to be hit by a low kick to the side followed by another and another.

Naruto curled in on himself trying to protect himself, but it didn't really help. When Shadow went in for another, Naruto grabbed his foot and threw his leg up, kicking him in the stomach, and push off of him, rolling himself into a crouch again. Naruto could tell Shadow was irritated from the look on his face. _"You will obey me, one way or the other, why do you resist when you know it's futile?"_

"I will protect those I love from the likes of you, even if I have to give my life to do it!"

Shadow smirked. _"You talk as if you can win, in case you haven't noticed, I haven't hit the ground even once, you on the other hand… well…"_ Shadow shot forward kicking the crouching Naruto in the chin, sending him once again to the floor. After bouncing twice he came to a stop on his back, Shadow laughed as he stood over him. _"For all your talk of protect them, you sure are doing a piss poor job of it. I'll end this game now."_ Shadow raised his foot over Naruto's head and brought it down quickly. There was a flash and Shadow was thrown backwards and skidded across the chamber. _"How?!"_

"You failed to realize three things, first this is my mind, what I say goes here! Second I **never** give up! And finally, when someone fights to protect a person they hold dear, they're power increase exponentially!" Naruto starts to draw on all of his chakra, creating the image of blue flames around his body. He holds his left hand straight out to the side and another Naruto appears, this one has red eyes with slits for pupils, more defined whiskers, and claws.

"**What's going on Kit, how am I outside the seal?"**

"Technically you're not, only your consciousness and one tails worth of yokai, figured you like to help me beat the shit out of this bastard."

A evil smile that seemed out of place on Naruto's face spread across Kyuubi's. **"You're so thoughtful Kit, I have been rather bored lately." **Kyuubi tilted his head to the side and got several cracks from it. **"A good beat down will do wanders for that though."** He, like Naruto, flared up his yokai forming crimson flames around him. Both ran at Shadow at speeds faster than before, each focusing on one side of his body. They didn't let up and because of this, Shadow never hit the floor. They looked at each other and nodded before both disappeared and reappeared on both hands and one leg, the other connecting with Shadow's chin, sending him into the air.

Instead of following him up, like Naruto had seen Gai do, he and Kyuubi waited for him to come down, as he came closer, they both pumped the energy they had collected into one their fists, Naruto into his right and Kyuubi into his left. When he came down, they let him hit the ground, where he bounced twice, and then they drove their energized fists into his chest at the same time, making a twenty-foot wide crater in the room. Kyuubi faded and his eyes reappeared in the seal. Naruto glared at the form getting up at the bottom of the crater. "I won bastard, now you will obey me. You will have the blood of my enemies if that is what I decide, and if you _ever_ try to harm anyone precious to me, I'll make sure that you're never found again. Do you understand me?"

"_Yes. I am yours to wield as you see fit."_ Shadow bowed slightly and sank into the shadows.

Naruto turned towards the cage. **"You shouldn't have spared him Kit, you would have still been able to wield the sword."**

Naruto sighed. "I've given you a second chance, even though I know you didn't mean to involve the whole village, so he got one too. If he tries it again, I'll destroy him, whether the sword works afterwards or not."

"It's your decision Kit. I healed the wound to your arm and the damage from your battle."

"But that was in here, why would it affect me out there?"

"I don't understand how it works, but whatever happens in here affects your body, but not the other way around."

"So if I didn't stop him from crushing my head we'd be dead?"

"Unfortunately yes."

"I'll have to be more careful if he tries again then. Talk to you later Kyuubi." Naruto faded from his mindscape.

------------------------

Kakashi and Kiba turned towards the south when they felt the chakra surge. "Kakashi, isn't that…"

"Yes it is, he's drawing on a lot of both kinds of chakra. I'll send a Kage Bunshin with Tazuna, let's go." There was a popping sound and they took off towards the source.

------------------------

Sakura was the first of the two to feel the chakra spike they both turned back the why they came. "Who could have that much chakra?" Sasuke just smirked and took off in the direction they had come."

------------------------

Shino's bugs were agitated and Haku suppressed a shudder though she was smiling. "My bugs are afraid of the second chakra."

Haku stood up and turned around. "I guess we were wrong, he did survive. Let's go see him." Shino nodded and they started east.

------------------------

Naruto opened his eyes and found everyone kneeling around him, most were smiling, except Sasuke who was smirking, and Shino was though no one could tell. "Hey guys, what's up?" For that he got four hits to the head from Kakashi, Kiba, Kurenai, and surprisingly Hinata.

Kiba being the last one to hit him spoke. "Idiot, we all think you're dead and that's all you have to say? Where the hell have you been for the last two days?"

Naruto was rubbing his head. "I woke up in a cave this morning."

Kurenai looked worriedly over at the sword's handle in his hand. "Mind telling us what that was about earlier?"

"It's like this, in the cave I woke up in I found a lot of human bones, and one of them had this thing in their hand." He showed them the bone. "Anyway, I picked it up to find out what it was and then a voice spoke to me. It said it was the sword and it was going to use me to kill every living thing. I of course said I wouldn't, but it took control and made me attack people, I did everything I could to keep from killing them. Then I ran into you two." He looked over at Kurenai and Hinata. "It found sick pleasure in making me try to attack you. I stopped it, and then went into my head and fought the bastard, I won of course, and now it obeys me."

Kakashi looked at the object in Naruto's hand. "You said this is a sword?"

"Yeah, the blade's made of blood red chakra." He pushed a small amount of chakra into it and the blade appeared. "See."

Kakashi's eye widened. "Well I'll be damned."

"You know what it is Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura had stopped ogling Sasuke when the blade activated.

"It's a legendary chakra sword like Nidaime's Raijin sword, it dropped off the face of the earth half a century ago. It's notoriously called the Satsubatsu sword because the wielders normally go on killing sprees soon after acquiring it. This voice Naruto spoke of probably did the same thing to them as it tried to do to him." It was as Naruto sat up that everyone noticed the scar on the left side of his chest. Kakashi head dropped in shame. "Naruto, I'm so sor…"

"You don't have to say it Kakashi, I know you didn't mean to do it, and it's not yours either Haku." He looked over at her and smiled. "I not dead and that's all that matters. Now let get back to the house, I don't know about all of you, but I'm exhausted." They all stood, but Naruto was having trouble staying up. He scratched the back of his head. "Um… could I get some help please?" Kiba shook his head and supported Naruto as they walked. "I'm glad to see you're alright, I thought you had died on the bridge."

Kiba snorted. "I could say the same. You gave us all one hell of a scare man. Kakashi barely spoke or read his book, Kurenai-sensei barely left her room at all before today, hell I think even Sasuke and Shino was upset."

"Guess I should apologize to them huh."

"I don't think it'll matter, we're just happy you're okay. Hey, when we get back to Konoha, and after the Hokage gets through with us, my mom wants to meet you."

"You didn't tell her did you?"

"No, I said I wouldn't tell anyone and I haven't. But…"

"But?"

"But I told her that you could understand Akamaru."

"You what?" he glared at the dog boy.

"Hey cut me some slack, it was before I knew. After the first day at the academy I mentioned it to her, she may not even remember."

"You're so troublesome sometimes."

Kiba smiled widely. "Now who's sounding like Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, yeah. Oh well, we'll deal with it if it comes up, not much else we can do." As soon as they saw him, Inari and Tsunami tried to crush him in their embraces, while Tazuna just slapped him on the back and said it was good to have him back.

A/N: Sorry about the late update, it was harder than I thought it would be to bring him back. Happy Holidays!


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning, despite everyone's protests, Naruto went to help at the bridge and created over four hundred clones

The next morning, despite everyone's protests, Naruto went to help at the bridge and created over four hundred clones. Everyone was shocked by this because of the sheer number of them, even Kakashi, who could only make an eighth of that at most, but it would leave him drained. But Naruto didn't look as through he even noticed the drain, as he was working along side his clones. The other workers weren't fazed by the arrival of hundreds of the same boy at all, being that either Kakashi or Naruto himself had done the same thing every day since they arrived. Between the large amount of extra hands, and the use of Katon jutsu to weld the supports together, the bridge was finished in just under a week.

The morning after, Teams Seven and Eight, along with Haku, stood at the Wave end of the bridge, saying their goodbyes. Tazuna was the first to reach Naruto and held out his hand, which Naruto grasped. "We owe you a lot Gaki, if it weren't for you this bridge might have never been finished and Inari wouldn't have gotten out of his depression."

"Seriously, you don't have to thank me, I didn't really do anything that one of my teammates wouldn't have if they were in my place. The only thing I really did was give you was a lot of extra hands for the construction. Those seven are more deserving of your thanks than I am."

Tazuna chuckled as he shook his head. "I am thankful to them for protecting me Gaki, but I'm thankful to you for protect Tsunami and Inari. Even if one of your teammates would have done the same if they were in your place, the fact remains you were the one that did and for that I'll always be grateful."

"Just promise not to get completely smashed at the celebration I'm sure you're going to have and we'll call it even."

Tazuna let out a bellied laugh. "Sounds good Gaki."

Tazuna went over to the others as Tsunami and Inari came up to him. "Naruto-nii-san, do you have to leave?"

Naruto's smile saddened a bit. "Afraid so kiddo."

"You'll come back and visit right?"

Naruto knelt down so he was close to eye level with Inari. "Promise Otouto, and I always keep my promises. Besides, your Kaa-san's cooking is awesome, it's going to be hard not eating it when I get back to Konoha, I don't even think Ichiraku's Ramen can compare to her cooking." He said the last part loud enough for Tsunami to hear, and both Kakashi and Kiba were shocked speechless due to both knowing how serious his addiction to ramen is.

Inari jumped and hugged him and he felt some wetness on his shirt. Inari pulled away and started wiping his eyes. "I said I wasn't going to cry anymore."

"It's okay to cry when you're happy, and even when you lose someone close to you, but you can't expect things to get any better if all you do is cry all the time, okay?" Inari smiles through his tears and nods. "Alright, now you take care of your Kaa-san and the old drunk, make sure he doesn't drink himself into a stupor. Oh and be sure to say goodbye to Akamaru or he'll whine all the way home." Inari laughed a little and run over to Tazuna.

Naruto stood back up and was wrapped in a hug by Tsunami. "Thank you for everything you did Naruto-kun."

"It was the least I could do since you opened your house to us."

"It was no where near enough for what you've all done, the whole country owes you and your friends far more than we can ever hope repay."

"And you'll never have to." After a few more goodbyes, the group of nine left Nami no Kuni. Naruto spent most of the trip back to Konoha getting to know Haku better, she had started to open up more to them after his return, but still preferred to spend most of her time with Shino. A few days of tree hopping, as opposed to the week and a half walking, they could see the gates of Konoha just ahead. It only took a single glance to tell Naruto was anything but enthusiastic. 'Let's see what do I have to do today. Stand in Ojii-san's stuffy office while they give a full report, probably get the third degree for being reckless and be worried over for making my first kill and nearly dying, which will probably lead to them trying to convince me to tell Sasuke. Then going to meet Oba-san, and if she doesn't know, get interrogated to find out how I can understand Akamaru, but if she does, probably get bitched at for not coming to see her sooner. Then the talk with Kurenai-sensei, and I'd bet a year's worth of ramen I know how that's going to go. Wonder if I'd be able to ditch them for a second and send a clone so I can just go home.'

He felt a hand placed on his shoulder and turned to find Kakashi leaning down by his ear. "Don't even think about it. If I have to sit through the report, so do you." He then gave him one of his trademark eye smiles. "Besides, I tried sending a clone once and he killed it before it said a word. If it worked, I'd be the first to do it, especially considering what we have to tell him."

"Do we have to tell him everything?"

"You know we do, but just out of curiosity, what don't you want to tell him?"

"Everything that involves me, especially what happened with the demon brothers, on the bridge, and the day I came back."

"Ah, you don't want him to worry about your physical or mental health. However, you know he has to be informed of everything vital to the mission, and just because you have the spirit within the sword beaten, doesn't mean it won't try again." Naruto nodded with a sigh as they continued the rest of the walk in silence.

After a mostly uninterrupted report, Haku correcting them when they mentioned her as a boy. "Both Teams Seven and Eight will be on a week leave, that means no training and no missions." After saying this the Hokage asked all but Haku, Naruto, Kakashi, and Kurenai to leave. As soon as the door was closed, he turned to Haku. "Now Miss Haku, since you are here, am I right to assume you wish to join the village?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. If it is possible, I would also like to be allowed to become a ninja."

"From what I heard in the report, you and your Kekkei Genkai would be a welcome additions to our forces. However as with everyone who joins our village from other countries, you have be on a six-month probation, during which you will not be allowed to leave the village, and will have Anbu watching you to ensure the safety of the village. After the six months, you will be tested to see what rank you should be given, is that acceptable." She nodded. "I'm pleased to hear that, now on to the matter of your citizenship, you'll have to sign a few forms that will require a family name in addition to your given name for our records."

"I gave up my father's name when he killed my mother and tried to kill me. As far as I'm concerned, Zabuza was my father, so I'll use his name, Momochi."

Sarutobi nodded and wrote on a piece of paper before sliding it and a pen across the desk to her. "Sign at the bottom, and your citizenship is official and the probation will start as of today." She picked up the pen and signed before sliding it back to him. "Now, if you'd like, you can wait outside till we are done and Naruto can give you a tour of the village, or I can send for someone."

"If it's alright Hokage-sama, Shino Aburame agreed to give me a tour when we were done here."

"That quite alright Haku. You wouldn't want to keep him waiting, but please come back when the tour is over, I should have a place for you to stay set up by then."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Haku bowed her head and left the office shortly there after.

As the door closed, Naruto finished the set of seals he had slowly been going through since everyone else had left. His chakra covered every wall just as the Hokage brought his hands together. "It's already up Ojii-san. So let's hear it."

"Are you alright with the fact you took someone's life, have you dealt with it?"

"If I weren't alright, you three would be the first to know. I was fine with it the day it happened because he was trying to kill me, and would have if I were anyone else. From what Haku told me about the poison, I shouldn't have made it to camp that day, or made it back to the village had we turned around."

"Is there reason for worry that the sword you've acquire will try to take control again?"

"It's possible, but at the moment it is weakened from it's first failed attempt. It would also seem that it is confined to the same room as the seal, at least for the time being. Kyuubi has been keeping an eye on it and will tell me if it tries to make another bid at control, if that happens, Kyuubi and I will fight it off again like last time."

"About the last time, why did it take so long for you to regain control?"

"I don't know, I was fighting the whole way, only being able to barely keep myself from seriously harming the people of Nami, but when it tried to make me kill Kurenai-sensei and Hinata, something snapped and I took back enough control to stop myself. I don't know how, or even why it happened, I just refused to let it hurt them."

"Naruto, I want you to go and get a full physical, and once Jiraiya returns, I'll have him check the seal, just to be safe. Is that understood?"

Naruto sighed. "Yes. Is that all Ojii-san?"

"Just one more thing Naruto, due to your near death experience, I once again strongly urge you to tell Sasuke the truth."

Naruto turned and walked to the door, but turned his head to the side as he grabbed the knob. "I'll consider it." The sound barrier went down the moment the door was opened. Outside the office, he found both Kiba and Hinata waiting. "Sorry guys, because of me we're not going on any missions, or even train for the next week."

"Don't worry about it man, Okaa-san and Nee-san told me that's standard procedure after first kills. Speaking of which, we should get going. Hinata, are you sure you have to go, I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind if you came."

"I'm sure, my father will want to know how the mission went. Beside, it a family matter, and I wouldn't want to intrude on that."

"Alright if you're sure, but just so you know Hinata, I consider you as much a part of my family as Kiba and Kakashi are."

She wrapped him in a hug. "Thanks." After she pulled away, she gave Kiba a peck on the lips. "I see you tomorrow."

After she left, Kiba set Naruto in a level stare. "Are you regretting not asking her out when you had the chance now?"

Naruto couldn't help but smile. "Even if I was, which I'm not, the two of you are my best friends, and I would never get in the way of what you have. I really do think of her as family, like a younger sister, you… well, I'm not sure if I'd consider you a younger or older brother because it's hard to tell at times, Kakashi is like my perverted older brother, and Anko is the crazy older sister no one talks about."

"Aw, now I'm hurt brat, who wouldn't want to talk about me?" He jumped before turning around to come face to face with a leaning over Anko. "How was your mission?"

"Fine. Not that I'm not happy to see you Anko, but why are you here."

"Not sure myself, the Hokage sent a Anbu to get me a few minutes ago."

"Don't let me keep you, I have to get going anyway. I'll see you later Anko."

"Yeah, later brat."

Naruto turned back to Kiba. "Lead the way."

"Can't you just Shunshin us there?"

"I have to know where I'm going, or I could end up anywhere, and in case you've forgotten, I've never been to the Inuzuka Compound before." The dog boy sighed and leapt up on to the roof with Naruto right behind him.

It wasn't long before they dropped to street level in front of several large building, with chain link fencing connecting them on the backsides. Kiba found Naruto staring at the fence. "It keep's the untrained and in-training pups from causing trouble in town and gives the younger kids a place to run around outside where their parents don't have to worry about something happening to them. The adults take turns watching, usually they have their ninken do it while they do something else, but if for some reason they can't, they trade days with someone who can." Naruto stays silent, but nods and they head inside. "Kaa-san, I'm home!"

"Why don't you yell a bit louder Otouto, I don't think the Tsuchikage heard you." A woman with long hair tied into a ponytail with cloth wrappings as the tie walked into the room with three gray wolf-like dogs behind her. Two strands of hair fell on to her face from above her eyes, and two more, shorter ones from the top of her ears. She wore black almost skin tight pants, and a chunin vest that was zipped up most of the way. What could be seen made it seem as though there was nothing beneath it. Her right bicep was bandaged, and from beneath the wrapping, a red line went up towards her shoulder and connected to the bottom of a half circle, and where the center of the circle would be was a red dot, all in all it looked something like a flower. "Kaa-san's at the clinic, I was just about to take over for her."

"Okay, but first, nee-san this is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, this is my sister Hana and her ninken the Haimaru Sankyodai. The one on the left is Kaijin, on the right is Haigara, and the one in the back is Haiiro."

"_Is this the one who Kiba doesn't quit yapping about?"_

"_That is the female with pale eyes brother, I believe this is the one who gives Akamaru the bowls of noodles."_

"All right you three, we better get to the clinic, before Kaa-san tans our hides. It was nice meeting you Naruto."

"You as well Hana." They heard the door close as they went further into the house. "She didn't seem anywhere near as bad as you made her out to be."

"You don't have to live with her. She could easily be jonin if she wanted to be, when I asked her about why she hadn't taken the test, she said she was fine with being a chunin because she enjoys working at the clinic and if she was a jonin she wouldn't be able to spend as much time there as she could be sent on missions for months at a time."

"That doesn't surprise me, Kurenai-sensei was a chunin teacher for five years before she decided to become a jonin. She became one last year, so we're luck enough to be the first genin squad she's taught."

"You seem to know her pretty well, she's not going to try and play favorites because of it is she?"

"Not a chance, if anything, she'll be more strict on me because of it. Even so, I'll going to give you fair warning, I've known her most of my life, and know she can be the nicest person you'll ever meet, or the cruelest, so try to stay on her good side."

They both heard laughing from behind them and turned to see an Inuzuka woman with an unruly mane of shoulder lengthen brown hair, with red make-up on her eyelids, and purple lipstick. She wore a long-sleeved black shirt under her Jonin vest, and black pants tapped from the ankles to mid-shin. "Gaki, that's a rule for all women, one that your friend Kakashi can't seem to grasp."

"He's not so much a friend, but family. Am I right to assume you are Kiba's mother?"

"That's right, my name's Tsume. I've wanted to meet you for some time Naruto. I've heard a lot about you from Kiba, through I have to wonder how much is true, he likes to exaggerate."

"Well he'd have to considering what we've been doing until recently, like catching that cat ten to twelve times a week."

"No, I mean like being able to Shunshin clear across the village while still in the academy. I know you have extremely large chakra reserves for your age, but that would even be difficult for most Jonin."

"I've never tried to do that, but I did make it from the academy to the Ojii-san's office and back within fifteen minutes. I think that's the furthest I gone, but I don't really keep track."

She eyes looked to be on fire and a scowl was on her face as she spoke again. "I also recall something about knocking the Hokage out with a perverted jutsu."

Kiba was cowering, but Naruto was calm and even smiling. "That one's true." He saw she was about to jump him, so he waved his hand in a placating manner. "Immediately afterwards, I was made to promise, by someone a whole lot scarier than you, that I'd never use it again, and Ojii-san made it a Kinjutsu. I saw him write it in the Scroll of Sealing myself, along with Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Anko, who happens to be the one who made me promise."

The flames were gone in an instant and she was smiling again. "Alright then. So, when were you planning to pay you dear Oba-san a visit?" She caught him giving Kiba a death glare. "You can't blame him entirely. My sister and I still spent time together after she was disowned, she told me she was pregnant the day before she left on the mission Obito died on. She came back a few days later with Kakashi, but he had to go back to the front lines soon after. We spent most of the time together as I was on leave as well, being pregnant with Kiba. After Kyuubi's attack I had assumed you were her son, because of how Kakashi started looking out for you, but I wasn't sure till Kiba came home from the first day of the academy and told me you could understand Akamaru. I still wonder how you turned out blond though."

"I asked the same question. If it weren't for the fact that I have the Sharingan, I'd seriously have to question who my father was, I mean when Kakashi showed me the picture of his team, I looked like a chibi Yondaime with whiskers."

"_You still kind of do pup."_

A black wolf-like dog with an eye patch over the right eye and missing the left ear sat at the doorway to the room. "Only a little. It's mainly the shade of blond my hair is and cerulean eyes."

The dog cocked his head to the side and Tsume smiled at their interaction. "Naruto, this is my ninken Kuromaru. Kuromaru, this is Rin's son Naruto."

Kuromaru walked up to Naruto and sniffed him. _"You smell like her, a bit like foxes, and a hint of blood."_

"Can't really say I'm surprised about the first two, but that last one somebody better explain to me."

Naruto sighed. "The mission we were on was a joint B-rank mission to Nami no Kuni. Before we got to the sea, four missing-nins attacked us. Kiba, Hinata, Sasuke, and I each took on one, and from what they said, knocked them out with little problems. I on the other hand, was hit by the guy's poisoned claw, and in an act to end the fight quickly, I used one of the two kunai in my hands to knock away the claw and the when I stopped he fell to the ground holding his bleeding throat. If it weren't for Kyuubi, and some knowledge of herbs, the poison would have killed me before returning to the village to receive medical help, or to where we set up camp that night. Or it could be from the chakra sword I found before we left that tried to take over my body to kill every living thing, Kakashi called it the Satsubatsu sword. I kept it from killing anyone, but stabbed it through my arm when it tried to make me hurt Kurenai-sensei. I should probably get going."

"You just got here Naruto, and I want to get to know my nephew."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I have to go grocery shopping, and if I'm right about why Anko was at Ojii-san's office, I'm going to get a visit from her later. If it's alright with you Oba-san, I was wondering if I could stop by sometime later this week."

"Of course Naruto, you're always welcome here." She smiled playfully at him. "Hopefully next time you'll stay a bit longer so we can get to know each other better."

"Sounds like fun, maybe I can get to know Hana too, cause she didn't seem anything like what Kiba told me."

From Tsume's side, Kuromaru made a sound that Naruto swore was laughter. _"I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that pup."_

There was a disgruntled 'Hey!' from Kiba that had the other three laughing. After calming down, Naruto turned back to Tsume. "I should get going, if I'm late for a meeting with Anko, even if only by a few minutes, she'll threaten me with some sadistic method to ensure I never have children. I swear she's the only person who can get Kakashi to arrive on time because of what she did the last time he made her wait." Naruto shuddered. "He's normally there half an hour early when he's to meet her just to be safe."

Half an hour later Naruto was atop Yondaime's head on the Hokage Monument, looking out over the village when he heard the popping sound signaling the arrival of someone via Shunshin. "Why do you keep making me come up here to talk to you gaki?"

"Because it annoys you to no end." He heard her growl and he smiled. "I know why you're here Anko, and I know that Ojii-san is watching from his office. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him, because it's the truth, I'm fine."

"Okay, that's one thing down, now on to something more interesting, Kurenai and Kakashi told me what happened between you two, not at the same time of course, and that you told her how you feel."

The blond sighed. "Yes, I did. She wanted to talk to me about it when we got back, and I already know what she'll say."

"And what's that?"

"The same thing you and Kakashi have been telling me, that the age difference is too big, that it's probably just a crush and I'll get over it. And maybe you're right, maybe I like her just because she's out of my reach. Because I hold Kyuubi, it's not likely that someone will stick around after she finds out about him, so choosing someone who could never return my feelins, I avoid the pain of wondering if he wasn't sealed in me they might still care about me."

Anko smiled sadly. "There is one thing that you're wrong about Naruto, the old man isn't watching, I asked him not to because that's what I figured it was and didn't want him to hear what I'm going to say." Naruto looked at her curiously and she sighed before taking a deep breath. "Because of what happened with Orochimaru, I got pretty much no chance with any guy in the village, and what few I do are perverts that have no intension of starting a family, something I've always wanted." She snorted. "Hell, after everything that bastard put me through, I'm not even sure if I'm able to have children." She saw an evil smirk find its way on to Naruto's face. "What?"

Oh nothing, just that you're not as perceptive as you say you are." Anko looked at him confused, and his smirk turned into a smile. "You've never noticed how Iruka looks at you, how his face turns dark red when you hang off of him, but doesn't even try to get you to stop like anyone else would, or how depressed he is when you do it to someone else." An evil glint appeared in his eyes. "And I've seen the looks you give him when you think no one's looking."

Anko's face lit up with a blush. "I don't know what you're talking about, I told you before he's not someone I could stand to be to be with."

"And yet you're blushing. If that were true, you'd be throwing things at me and chasing me around the village yelling curses at the top of your lungs." Anko's blushed deepen and she disappeared in a puff of smoke while Naruto started laughing.


End file.
